Poland, Gazprom settle gas price dispute

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WARSAW, Poland, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom said it found "a mutually acceptable mechanism" on price for natural gas with its Polish partners.

Gazprom and Poland's state-controlled gas company PGNiG announced a change in their 1996 gas-price formula. The deal settles a dispute filed by PGNiG at an arbitration court in Sweden.

Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev met with PGNiG President Grazyna Piotrowska-Oliwa in Warsaw to settle the matter.

"We have found a mutually acceptable mechanism of the Russian gas price adjustment," Medvedev said in a statement.

The price adjustment concerns gas supplies to Poland delivered through the Yamal-Europe natural gas pipeline. The Wall Street Journal reports Poland gets a 10 percent discount in natural gas prices while the Financial Times reports a 15 percent price cut.

Gazprom said the "basic principles" of the bilateral agreement are preserved, including long-term contracts, take-or-pay agreements and a gas price pegged to oil.

"This is a crucial step in the path of restoring competitiveness of PGNIG long-term gas contracts," Piotrowska-Oliwa said in a statement.