TURKMENISTAN RAISES PRICE OF NATURAL GAS SUPPLIED TO RUSSIA

Turkmenistan's president Saparmurat Niyazov and Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller, who arrived in the Turkmen capital last night for a one-day visit, discussed the whole range of Turkmenistan's cooperation with Gazprom in the energy sphere. Informed sources told RIA Novosti that during the meeting the sides discussed, in particular, pressing problems of price formation as regards Turkmen natural gas supplies to Russia for re-export to Ukraine and Western Europe. Starting 2005, Turkmenistan has raised its gas prices for Russian and Ukrainian consumers from $44 to $58 per 1,000 cubic meters explaining it by a considerable rise in the prices of goods and services supplied under the clearing agreement for half of the gas value. At the start of the year, Turkmenistan signed a contract to supply 36 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Naftogaz of Ukraine this year at the new price. Similar terms were offered to Gazprom which has a 25-year contract for Turkmen gas supplies. Gazprom's negotiations with Turkmenistan on cooperation issues and also on gas prices are to be continued on February 18. On that day, a Russian delegation headed by Alexei Miller will arrive in Ashkhabad to mark Turkmen National Flag Day and Niyazov's birthday. During their Tuesday meeting, the sides also discussed cooperation in the sphere of pipeline systems and also prospects for Russian oil and gas companies' participation in developing the Turkmen part of the Caspian Sea shelf.