Turkmenistan is considered a potential natural gas supplier for the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline project designed to bypass Russia and pump up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Central Asia to Europe via Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria.
"After gradual transition to world prices, which are inevitable, the issue of orienting these [gas] flows to other countries will be taken off the agenda. If Turkmenistan raises the price, the profitability of gas supplies to Russia or through Russia increases," Sergei Prikhodko told a briefing on the eve of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the energy-rich Central Asian state.
In November 2007, Russian energy giant Gazprom and Turkmenistan signed a supplement to their contract on natural gas supplies from the Central Asian state. Under the document, natural gas from Turkmenistan will be supplied at $130 per 1,000 cu m in the first half of 2008 and at $150 per 1,000 cu m in the second half.
Gazprom purchases 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan annually under an agreement that expires at the end of the year.
Starting from January 1, 2009, the price of natural gas from Turkmenistan will be determined by the market. The price formula from 2009 will be set by a long-term contract expected to expire in 2028.
