BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/11/2010

Belarus insists on retention of gas prices next year

Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said that in 2011, Belarus intends to maintain the price of gas at the level of 2010. He said this in an interview with RTR-Belarus.

According to Sidorsky, as of January 1, 2011, Russian gas has to flow to Belarus according to a formula with a coefficient of "1". During the negotiations with Russia, in the recent meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Belarusian side held its ground that the prices of 2010 should be saved for Belarus in 2011.

"We believe that today both in the spot market and in the EU gas prices for, say, Germany are 15-20% lower than we see today under the contracts we have in our countries." Gazprom allowed in its agreement with Germany to buy some gas not from Gazprom, but in the spot market. A purchase of gas in the spot market, not from Gazprom, at lower prices, - is reality. Thus, the price of gas can be 15-20% cheaper", said Sidorsky. This is what gives Belarus the right, in his view, to insist on keeping the gas prices that were in operation in 2010.

It is worth noting that the price of the gas shipped from Russia to Belarus has grown significantly in recent years. If in 2007 the price of gas delivered to Belarus amounted to US$100 per 1 thousand cubic meters, in the second quarter of 2010 it rose to 184.2 dollars for a thousand cubic meters. In the third quarter of this year, the price rose to $193.47 per 1 thousand cubic meters.

Since 2008, the price has been calculated quarterly by a formula taking into account the index of price changes for oil and fuel oil. According to the deputy chairman of Gazprom Andrei Kruglov, the average price of Russian gas for Belarus in 2011 could reach $220 for a thousand cubic meters.

Source:

http://www.newsbcm.com/doc/497


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