MOSCOW, June 21 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [GAZP] hopes to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan in 2006 at $65 per 1,000 cu m, a spokesman for the Russian energy giant said Wednesday.
"A contract is being implemented on Gazprom buying 30 billion cubic meters of gas in Turkmenistan at $65 per thousand cu m," Sergei Kupriyanov said, commenting on a statement from Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry that it intended to raise the price from $65 to $100 per 1,000 cu m.
"We are convinced that our contract will be implemented in 2006," Kupriyanov said.
He added that purchases of additional gas in 2006 had been discussed at talks in Ashkhabad, the Turkmen capital, as well as the terms for gas supplies in 2007 and 2008 as part of a long-term contract.
"We are fully satisfied with cooperation with Turkmenistan and intend to develop it," he said, adding that talks were still ongoing.
