European antitrust regulators are striking at Gazprom ’s core, going after the Russian energy giant’s pricing policies and its politically hued control over natural gas pipelines. But market forces, more than regulatory pressures, are stacking up against the company, as it struggles to maintain its earnings power and geopolitical heft. Long used by President Vladimir V. Putin to further Russia’s economic and political interests, Gazprom has used its muscle to dictate prices and set terms for natural gas supplies across Europe. This worked for years because customers had few other options. But politics, Gazprom is quickly realizing, are not always good for profits. Those same policies are making it difficult to maneuver, as Gazprom finds itself competing against a wide array of ever more […]