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Minsk-Moscow gas spat may cause EU shortages: Gazprom VP
AFP
PARIS
Petroleumworld.com 12 29 06The vice-president of Russia's state gas monopoly accused Belarus of "grotesque blackmail" for threatening to disrupt Russian natural gas deliveries and suggested Europe may face shortages, in an interview to be published Friday in a French newspaper.
If "Belarus takes part of the gas we're directing for our European clients that crosses its territory, this gas will be missing in the system," Gazprom vice-president Alexander Medvedev told France's Le Figaro daily. "I therefore can't exclude a forced rationing of our offer and therefore shortages for our clients."
Medvedev's warning is the latest parry in a war of words between Minsk and Moscow over Gazprom's announcement that it would hike import prices.
On Thursday, Belarussian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said Minsk would block Russian natural gas from passing through its territory to Europe as of January 1, if it fails to strike a deal with Moscow on import prices.
The gas giant has threatened to cut natural gas supplies to Belarus unless the country accepts steeper fees.
Belarus serves as the transit point for roughly 20 percent of Russian gas flowing to Europe, which faced similar disruptions during a pricing dispute between Moscow and Ukraine last winter. Some five percent of Europe's total gas needs come from Russia via Belarus.
"I find it grotesque that their blackmail threatens our European clients with an interruption in transmission of Russian gas through Belarussian territory," Medvedev told Le Figaro, adding Gazprom was nonetheless ready to cut gas supplies to Minsk.
Belarus currently pays Gazprom 46.68 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres of gas.
Gazprom originally demanded an increase to 200 dollars, which is closer to western European prices, unless Belarus agreed to sell 50 percent of its domestic pipeline operator Beltransgaz.
Gazprom has since reduced that demand to 105 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres -- 75 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres in cash payments, plus the equivalent of another 30 dollars in shares of Beltransgaz.
AFP 28 2056 GMT 12 06
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