Central Asian gas to be sold at European prices
Natural gas from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will be sold at European prices as of 2009, the press service of Russia's Gazprom gas giant reported Tuesday.
"Proceeding from the interests of the national economies, taking into account international obligations to ensure reliable and uninterrupted supplies of energy resources, from 2009 the natural gas will be sold at European prices," officials from Central Asian gas companies said after a meeting with Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller.
The heads of gas companies of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan discussed prospects for cooperation in the natural gas sector.
The price of Central Asian gas, which Gazprom sells to Ukraine, makes up $179.5 per 1,000 cubic meters this year, while the price of Russian gas (supplied by the gas giant in the first two months of this year) was $314.6.
The decision to raise gas prices will tell on talks between Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz on Wednesday, when the two companies will discuss supplies of gas to Ukraine.
This decision to raise prices can also bury projects to build gas pipelines from Central Asia to Europe in bypassing Russia, in particular, a Trans-Caspian gas pipeline. Central Asian countries were supporting the project, as it let them reach a European consumer in bypassing Russia and getting a higher price.
Polish firm to merge two Kazakh firms, float new unit in London
Polish oil company Petrolinvest plans to consolidate two engineering and servicing companies that it took over in Kazakhstan earlier this year, Caspian Services and KazakhstanCaspiShelf, and possibly float the newly established unit on the London Stock Exchange, Polish business daily Wall Street Journal Polska wrote on Tuesday.
"Within the next year the company (Petrolinvest) plans to consolidate companies recently acquired on the local (Kazakh) market," the newspaper wrote.
"The company that would be created as a result of the consolidation (of CS and KCS) would debut on the London Stock Exchange."
Petrolinvest signed a deal at the end of February for the acquisition of stakes in the two Kazakh seismological research companies, which provide geological and geochemical services for oil companies developing and exploiting crude oil and natural gas.
Gazprom plans Sakhalin-Vladivostok gas pipeline
Gazprom has included a project to build a gas pipeline linking Sakhalin and Vladivostok in its investment program for 2008-2011, Viktor Timoshilov, Gazprom's head of coordination for eastern projects, said during a session at the Regional Development Ministry devoted to the program for gasification in the Far East.
Gazprom will not commit money to the pipeline project until it signs a gas purchase agreement with the operator of the Sakhalin-1 project, Exxon Neftegas, Timoshilov said.
Sakhalin-1 will be the sole potential source of gas for Primorye and Khabarovsk territory until 2015, he said.
Gazprom has already entered into talks with the multinational Sakhalin-1 consortium.
"It must be said that this task can only be resolved jointly. Gazprom's efforts alone will not be enough," he said.
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Closing oil prices, Mar. 12, 3 p.m. London
Brent crude oil: $105.34
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $108.70
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