Gazprom firm on price hike for Belarus

Russia’s Gazprom does not plan to make concessions to Minsk and intends to raise the price for Belarus in 2010, Russia’s newspaper Kommersant reported with reference to a “source close” to current talks between the Belarusian government and the gas giant, BelaPAN said. 

Uladzimir Syamashka, Belarus’ first deputy prime minister, visited Moscow on December 2 to meet with Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller.

The meeting focused on “preliminary outcomes of gas deliveries and transit shipments in 2009, and on further cooperation," the Gazprom press office said without elaborating.

“Mr. Syamashka has repeatedly pointed to the need to keep a low gas price for Belarus in place, stressing that the Russian government has delayed the introduction of the same level of prices for domestic consumers, which was scheduled to take place in 2011, and that Minsk and Moscow are components of the Union State. The Gazprom source said in an unofficial interview that the differences had not been ironed out yesterday,” Kommersant said on Thursday.

“We understand that the Belarusian government wants to support its country’s economy through modest gas prices, that’s why they are trying to push for a discount for next year as well,” the source was quoted as saying. “The average 2009 price for Belarus is $146 for 1000 cubic meters and will be $164 in 2010 in accordance with the price formula. We find the slight rise of 16 percent to be acceptable and our position on the subject has not changed.”

The paper also said that Gazprom, which will hold a 50-percent stake in Beltranshaz in 2010, wants the Belarusian gas transport company to increase its revenues by raising its prices for domestic customers.

Referring to experts, Kommersant suggested that Gazprom could still make certain concessions to Belarus to avoid a dispute that could hurt its image and make a significant dent in its revenues.

“With Gazprom’s falling export revenues expected to total $25 billion this year, the monopoly will have to take efforts to save its reputation as a reliable supplier and pay a price to secure the lack of transit problems,” Valery Nesterov, an expert at the Moscow-based Troika Dialog investment company, was quoted as saying.

Anatoly Yanovsky, Russia’s deputy energy minister, told Kommersant that the two countries would sign a program of long-term cooperation in the sphere of energy resources in the next two weeks.