Thursday, January 15, 2009

Russia's political gas tariffs

An extensive but still only partial English translation of Yushchenko's press conference remarks is available here. Andrei Illarionov has published lists of gas and transit prices, based on Yushchenko's data, here. The lists clearly demonstrate that Russia's pricing system is based on political, not market, considerations. For example, this year Belarus will pay $160 per cubic metre, and Armenia will pay only $154. From Ukraine - geographically much closer than Armenia - Gazprom is asking $450 for the first quarter of 2009. Where transit fees are concerned, the situation is equally unbalanced: while the European going rate fluctuates between $4 and $13 per 1,000 cubic metres / 100 kilometres, Russia is offering Ukraine an average payment of $1.7.

(via Marko Mihkelson)

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