PRESS: Russia’s Gazprom to expand gas market liberalization

MOSCOW, Aug 18 (PRIME) -- Russian gas giant Gazprom seeks to spread a pilot project to liberalize wholesale gas prices on all regions, where the share of independent gas producers is high, in order to ease competition with these companies, Kommersant business daily reported Thursday citing documents sent by Gazprom to the Energy Ministry.

Gazprom admitted that the pilot project to liberalize wholesale gas prices for industrial consumers in the Tyumen Region, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District was right.

Gazprom projects that its gas supplies to domestic consumers will fall by 75 billion cubic meters, or by almost 30% this year as compared with 2011 because of rivals, which can reduce prices while Gazprom is forced to sell gas at a tariff.

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