BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/12/2006

Gazprom threatens gas cutoff to Belarus

MOSCOW, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Russian gas export giant Gazprom will halt supplies to Belarus on Monday if it doesn't sign a contract with the monopoly, the company's chief said.

The dispute could affect Gazprom's contracts to transport gas through Belarus to Europe, Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said Wednesday.

Gazprom has sent letters to Germany, Poland and Lithuania informing them "of possible problems in the transit of gas through Belarus," the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Belarus threatened to siphon off Russian natural gas bound for Europe in the event of a suspension of supplies to Belarus.

Gazprom is demanding Belarus pay more than more than four times its current price for gas next year and hand over a 50-percent stake in its gas distribution system.

Miller said Gazprom planned to raise Belarus's price even further by asking Moscow to impose a duty on Belarus's gas, raising the price to $260 per 1,000 cubic meters from Belarus's current price of $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters, the Prime-Tass news agency reported.

Source:

http://www.market-day.net/article_46938/20061227/Gazprom-threatens-gas-cutoff-to-Belarus.php