Gas deliveries to Europe via Belarus will continue: Gazprom

Dec 29, 2006, 14:03 GMT

Minsk - Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe via Belarusian pipelines will continue after the New Year even if Belarus and the Kremlin are unable to agree on pricing, a senior official for the Russian conglomerate Gazprom said on Monday.

'Deliveries of gas to Europe via the territory of Belarus will be made (after January 1) as per pre-existing agreements,' Aleksander Medvedev, Gazprom export chairman, said in comments reported by the Belapan news agency.

'There is no reason for the reconsideration of these contracts,' he said.

Medvedev's remarks came as the clock ticked down to an end-of-the-year deadline for an agreement between Russia and Belarus on the price of Russian gas sold to Belarus, and terms for the transit of Russian gas across Belarusian territory to European customers.

Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Eduard Tovpenets was flying Friday afternoon to Moscow for further negotiations, the energy ministry in Minsk was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

Talks have been deadlocked for more than a month, according to Belarusian news reports because of differences between Moscow and Minsk on the value of a controlling stake in the Belarusian pipeline network Gazprom would receive in exchange for not increasing the price of natural gas sold to Belarus to international levels.

Russia's 'final offer' as reported by the Russian ORT television channel on Thursday evening was a price of 105 dollars per thousand cubic metres of gas, plus control of the Belarusian Beltransgaz pipeline network. Most European consumers pay around 230 dollars.

Belarusian leader Aleksander Lukashenko has called the talks with Gazprom 'extremely difficult,' and earlier in the week hinted Belarus would not accept a total cut-off of gas in the absence of a deal with Gazprom by the end of the year, saying 'we will defend the interests of Belarusians.'

The remark was widely understood to imply that if Gazprom fails to send Belarus gas, then Belarus will siphon gas destined for European markets.

A similar dispute between Gazprom and Ukraine last year caused spot gas shortages across Europe at the height of winter.

Europe will not see a shortfall this year because of pre-positioned gas reserves owned by Gazprom, even if Belarus chose to siphon off gas, Medvedev said.

'Unsanctioned gas siphoning is an action outside legal and proper relations between two partners,' he said. 'I hope it doesn't happen. But if it does, we have gas reserves already in Europe.'