PRESS: Novatek, Rosneft against Gazprom raising exchange gas sales

MOSCOW, Nov 22 (PRIME) -- Russian independent gas producer Novatek and oil major Rosneft are trying to prevent gas giant Gazprom from increasing its sales of natural gas through the exchange in 2018, Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday.

In mid-November, the Federal Antimonopoly Service held a meeting to discuss gas trade on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange. Now, Gazprom cannot sell more gas that all independent producers combined and no more than 17.5 billion cubic meters a year. But independent producers sell significantly less gas than Gazprom, Kommersant reported.

Since Gazprom sold 15.2 bcm of gas through the exchange in January–October, it will have to cut sales in November–December. The exchange and the service have already requested the government to raise the limit of exchange gas sales for Gazprom.

“At the meeting, independent producers said they plan to participate in exchange trade in 2018 mainly as buyers, as they have no spare gas or only a small amount of it to sell there. Still, they continue saying that the exchange market is a market of one player,” Dmitry Makhonin, head of the service’s corresponding department, told Kommersant.

According to sources of the business daily, Novatek and Rosneft were against raising the limit for Gazprom and against cancellation of the parity sale principle.

A Rosneft representative told the business daily that creation of equal conditions of access to infrastructure and consumers is a condition for further liberalization of the market, and that currently there is no equality in that. Novatek declined to comment, while a Gazprom representative said that all non-market restrictions should be lifted, which will improve competition.

The Energy Ministry suggested the government increase the limit for Gazprom’s exchange sales to 25 bcm a year and to maintain the parity principle, while the Economic Development Ministry favored an increase of the limit with cancellation of the parity principle.

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