To the man in the street the name Gazprom means little but in coming years it could figure large in the UK's energy thinking.

The Russian-owned company, which recently announced that Centrica was on a long list of acquisition targets, is one of several energy giants which have increasingly tighten their grip on the world's gas supplies.

Centrica owns the British Gas brand in the UK and Gazprom has declined to comment on the rumours about its future.

This speculation has prompted fears over a possible cold war over gas and a domination of the British fuel market by a foreign company. State-owned Gazprom is the world's biggest gas supplier and the company is valued at more than $250 billion.

Share prices in Centrica rose significantly last Wednesday after several newspapers speculated about a sale of the British company.

A source close to Gazprom has suggested Centrica is a target, saying: "We are looking at Centrica and many other companies, but it seems like this year or next there will be no acquisitions."

Gazprom supplies a quarter of Europe's gas and the company courted controversy in January after it cut supplies to the Continent following a price dispute with the Ukraine.

Some experts saw this move as a show of strength on the part of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and suggest he is attempting to use fuel companies to dominate Eastern Europe's economic minnows.

Billionaire financier George Soros, warned of the dangers Gazprom posed to energy security. "Mr Putin put his own man, Alexei Miller, in charge of Gazprom and pushed out the previous management that had built a private fiefdom out of Gazprom's properties," he said.

"The president did not dissolve the fiefdom, but used it to assert control over the production and transportation of gas in neighbouring countries."

Backed by the Russian government Gazprom is opposing an EU initiative to deregulate the gas market and loosen the ties between the company and many of its EU-based customers, claiming the move would de-stabilise the industry.

The gas giants have also suggested the company may look to expand to North America and China if its plans are hampered by the EU. A spokesman insisted this was not intended as economic blackmail, but re-affirmed the comapany's position that long-term contracts depended on assurances of long-term demand.

President Putin suggested the decision to look at new markets was a natural reaction to the "repeated attempts to spread anxiety" about European dependence on Russian oil.

Gazprom already has 26 per cent of the market in Europe and is looking to increase this to 33 per cent by 2010.

Amid speculation earlier this week that the British Government would block any move for Centrica, Tony Blair has pledged his support for an open-market and his belief in liberalisation. Mr Blair re-affirmed his feelings that any bid for Centrica should be dealt with by the UK's independent competition authorities.

Mr Putin welcomed these assurances and confirmed Gazprom had made no official approach for Centrica. At a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel he said: "It is very pleasant that Mr Blair has spoken out against such arguments."

Alan Johnson, Trade and Industry Secretary, met with Alexander Medvedev, deputy chief executive of Gazprom, in London last week.

He said: "Whatever the difficulties and challenges of globalisation, the answers will not be found in the stagnent waters of protectionism.

"Protectionism may seem to offer temporary political comfort, but ultimately it will cause long-term economic decline. In the UK we welcome companies who play by the rules and want to operate in our competitive liberalised market."

Mr Medvedev has been highly critical of the EU's attempts to block Gazprom from dominating the industry by making it surrender its European export pipeline monopoly with an Energy Charter Treaty.

Marc Franco, head of the European Union delegation in Russia, issued a plea to the energy giant to join the Treaty.

"There is a basic misunderstanding in Russia, where they equate the interests of Gazprom with the interests of Russia, and this is not the case," he said. "The interests of Russia are much wider than the interests of Gazprom."

Alexei Miller, chief executive of Gazprom, said: "Attempts to limit Gazprom's activities in the European market and to politicise questions of gas supplies, which are in fact entirely within the economic sphere, will not produce good results." The Russian energy industry has taken off in the past decade and has created many powerful new companies. Football fans need only look as far as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to know the industry is creating fortunes.

The Kremlin has been keen to encourage this expansion with Mr Putin protecting the interests of these companies at home and abroad. This support and the vast natural resources which abound in Siberia helped Russia to overtake Saudi Arabia as Opec's leading oil supplier in 2005.

Now the Russians have turned their attention to gas it is feared they could leave Britain entirely dependent on the whim of a company like Gazprom.

The company is currently building a North European pipeline linking Russia to Germany. Gazprom owns 51 per cent of the North European Gas Pipeline Company which will operate the new route with the rest of the stock held by BASF and E.ON.

Wulf Bernotat, chief executive of E.ON, owner of Powergen and Central Networks in the Midlands, spoke of his hopes for the future of gas supply at a ceremony marking the beginning of the pipeline's construction in Vologda last December.

"Welding the first joint of a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is a symbolically meaningful event. Our countries have close relationships and have managed to find the best way to understand each other."

Despite these words Mr Franco is worried about fair competition and urged Mr Putin to commit to the international energy charter and force Gazprom to open its existing pipelines to competitors.

He said: "In terms of gas, what they want is a guarantee of security of demand. What we want is security of supply."

Mr Franco even compared the companies tactics to the Soviet-era COMECON arrangement under which communist nations ran command economies.

"We feel that the COMECON days are over," he said. "Even if Gazprom is a state-owned company, it is a commercial company and it should act on a commercial basis, and the Russian government should push it to do so."

The depletion of North Sea gas means companies such as Centrica are having to look for alternatives from abroad. However, this has not yet led to a dependency on Russia, as Gazprom currently supplies only two per cent of Britain's gas.

It seems inevitable this share will increase as demand rises and the supply of North Sea gas dwindles, but other alternatives could negate the risk of the gas market becoming relient on Gazprom.

Shipping of gas from Algeria and pipelines from Scandinavia and central Europe are all viable replacements for North Sea gas. Over the next two years more and more gas will be imported from these sources.

A new pipeline from Norway, with the potential to contribute 20 per cent of the UK's gas requirement, is currently under construction and should be completed by 2007.

Gazprom has also shown it is not overly protective of resources by signing a deal with BASF allowing the chemicals company to take ownership of 35 per cent of the Yuzhno Russkoye natural gas field in Siberia.

Doubts remain, however, over the reliability of a company seemingly willing to cut supplies and threaten markets in order to succeed. Gazprom has been used for political ends by president Putin in the past and this could become a more regular feature of its operations.

The problem facing West Midlands businesses is how to secure their future energy needs in a market of unstable supply and increasing demand.

A Russian takeover may be some way off, but it has the potential to destabilise the situation even further. A cold war over gas could be on the cards, and could lead to many cold winters in the West Midlands for businesses and consumers.

Statistics from the International Energy Agency's Monthly Natural Gas Survey:

UK imports of natural gas for January were up by 16 per cent from January 2005

The Netherlands was Europe's largest importer of natural gas, increasing imports by 26 per cent over the last year

Russia is the largest exporter of gas in Europe, followed by Germany.

Despite the decline of North Sea gas reserves the UK exported 1,543 million cubic metres in January

Gross consumption of gas in Europe has fallen by 7.6 per cent over the last year