MOSCOW, June 21 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) expects a Russian stock market to start trading in natural gas in 2007, a spokesman for the Russian energy giant said Wednesday.
Kirill Seleznyov of Mezhregiongaz, a Gazprom subsidiary that manages domestic sales, said up to 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas would be offered on trading floors and provided by Gazprom and independent suppliers on parity terms.
The official said an electronic natural gas bourse had been operating in the country and sales accounted for 400 million cu m in 2005 against 700 cu m in 2004.
"The average ratio between sale and regulated prices is gradually declining," he said adding that the indicator had decreased from 1.4 to 1.12-1.15 since 2000.
On June 8, the Russian Trading System, the country's premier stock market, started trading in ruble-settled contracts for oil and oil products, in line with President Vladimir Putin's suggestion in his state of the nation address May 10 that as a leading oil exporting nation, Russia should establish its own oil exchange to trade crude and petroleum products for rubles.
