BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/12/2006

Russia estimates economic effect from Gazprom's offer to Belarus

RBC, 26.12.2006, Moscow 19:03:40.The economic effect of Gazprom's offer to Belarus amounts to $1.9bn, the company's Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev told a press conference in Moscow today. According to him, Gazprom offered Belarus to pay $110 per thousand cubic meters of natural gas in 2007, with $75 payable in cash and $30 in Beltransgaz shares, which is in line with the company's asset appraisal of $5bn. However, Medvedev pointed out that Gazprom considered Beltransgaz's maximum value to be $3.3bn. He also added that Gazprom's initial offer was $170 per thousand cubic meters.

Medvedev said that Gazprom made other offers to Belarus, including that of transferring Beltransgaz shares to Gazprom over four years till 2011, as well as synchronizing gas pricegrowth with that on Russia's domestic market. However, all the offers were declined.

Medvedev concluded by saying that gas transit contracts were not part of agreements on Russia's gas supplies to Belarus, and therefore would remain at the previous year's level. He assured that Gazprom had enough resources to cover a shortage of gas in Europe if the need arose. However, he said that it was impossible to predict Belarus's actions.

Source:

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20061226190340.shtml