As Russia moves to nationalize foreign companies exiting its market, the UK prepares to nationalize a major Russian natural gas supplier

The Russian natural gas giant is in danger of collapsing and causing supply disruption and the UK government is preparing to temporarily nationalize the British retail supply unit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said two weeks ago that the country was planning to seize and nationalize the assets of foreign companies.

The company is being put under special administration by the UK government in order to save it from being taken over by the Russians. Many major natural gas traders instructed their staff not to deal with the trading arm of Gazprom.

The UK government has sanctions against the CEO of Gazprom. It doesn't face restrictions.

According to The Times of London on Sunday, Gazprom is trying to find a buyer for the business, which supplies natural gas to around 30,000 UK business customers. It would be difficult to reach a deal according to a person close to the company.

The UK government could either nationalize the company or find another supplier to take over if it collapsed, according to the FT. The National Health Service is one of the clients of Gazprom in the UK.

Insider asked for comment from Gazprom, but they did not reply immediately.

Insider was told by an analyst that the Kremlin is likely to take issue with the nationalization of Gazprom in the UK and see it as a political move.

The Head of Consumer Sector Equity Research at Tellimer said that it could escalate tensions between the West and Russia.

The West needs to tread carefully given Russia's supply of gas to Europe, said Tiruchelvam, who covers the commodity sector.

There are fears that the Russian government may cut off the natural gas supply to Europe. Europe imports 40% of its gas from Russia, according to the International Energy Agency.