Gazprom and Armenia in gas talks

Armenia could sign a three-year gas deal with Russia’s Gazprom in September, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan has announced. He said negotiations on the price and terms of the agreement are underway.

According to the current contract Armenia receives Russian natural gas at USD 110 per thousand cubic meters, but this expires in December and some commentators predict the new price to be over USD 160 per thousand cubic meters.

Gazprom owns 72 percent of the stock of Armgazprom, Armenia’s sole gas distributor.

Recently, the Russian energy giant agreed to pay more than the USD 150 per thousand cubic meters it pays for Turkmen gas from 2009 onward, although the new figure has not been released. Gazprom sells gas to Europe for around USD 400 per thousand cubic meters.