Gazprom to supply additional gas volumes to Kyrgyzstan
By Aynur Jafarova
Russian gas giant Gazprom will supply additional 330 million cubic meters of gas to Kyrgyzstan.
The company will sell natural gas to Kyrgyzstan for $165 per cubic meter, Kyrgyz president's website said.
Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Alexey Miller informed Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev about the company's decision to supply additional gas volumes.
The decision on the additional gas supplies was made amid the severe energy crisis in the country.
Power outages in Kyrgyzstan with a 5.5 million population are reportedly frequent. Thus, ensuring Kyrgyzstan's energy security is one of the top priorities of the government. In winter, when the average temperature often falls below zero, Kyrgyzstan suffers from lack of power.
Earlier, Kyrgyzstan made a decision to cut off all kinds of heating for upcoming winter due to the electricity deficit in the country. The situation is complicated with the decision of Uzbekistan to halt gas supplies to the southern Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyz experts believe that Kyrgyzstan's energy problem will be resolved by using coal instead of gas in industry, heating and electricity production. The country has about 1.4 billion tons of coal in its deposits.
Gazprom is the largest producer of natural gas in the world and the major Russian company. Its major business lines are geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and marketing of hydrocarbons, as well as generation and marketing of heat and electric power. The Russian government has a controlling stake in the company.
In 2013, Gazprom acquired all gas infrastructures in Kyrgyzstan. Gazprom as well as its subsidiaries have the exclusive right to import natural gas to the country and are protected against expropriation and nationalization in Kyrgyzstan.
Meanwhile, Gazprom has to pay off Kyrgyzgas's $40 million debt. It also needs to invest $612.8 million in modernization and reconstruction of Kyrgyzgas's gas infrastructure within five years.