A worker turns a valve as another worker talks on a phone at a gas compressor station at the Yamal-Europe pipeline near Nesvizh, some 130 km (81 miles) southwest of Minsk.
Photo: Reuters
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Belarus to Pay for Gas Over $200/Ths Cu Meters Next Year
Russia’s gas will cost over $200/th cu meters for Belarus in 2009, the RF Ambassador to Belarus Alexander Surikov announced in Minsk Wednesday during the news conference.
“Based on the estimate, the gas price for Belarus will exceed $200/ths cu meters in 2009,” Surikov said, specifying that the price is established in view of the gas price for Poland.
“Under the contract signed in December of 2006 for gas supplies to Belarus till 2011, the gas for Belarus will cost 80 percent of the gas worth for Poland less the customs duty, less the gas transit via Poland, plus the gas transit via Russia and Belarus. This year, the gas costs $320/ths cu meters to Poland, the price of the next year will exceed $400,” Surikov said.
“When it calculates the price for 2009 and sees that the price exceeds $200, the Economic Ministry of Belarus sets to speaking of revising the formula, referring to their failure to guess the gas cost, the growth in oil prices,” the ambassador reminded.
“But cancelling the contract signed between Gazprom and Beltransgaz is very dangerous,” Surikov said. “There has been no world practice of such contracts’ cancellation, so it is impossible to evaluate the aftereffects of it,” the ambassador warned.
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