Normal service resumed, back to energy, gas pipelines and corruption.
Ben’s brilliant business journal today brings this piece of news, which to all intents and purposes ends GAZP’s export monopoly. It’s about as likely to happen as Saakashvilli winning the Nobel peace prize, or being admitted to MENSA, however the attack continues.
Buggered if I understand what is going on. It’s almost as if there is some pure business logic behind the decision. But I not that naiive.
BUSINESS NEW EUROPE – bne Page
Vedomosti reported today (14 Aug) that the Federal Anti-monopoly Services (FAS) has made amendments to the gas export law. Although the amendments were already supported by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Federal Customs Services, they were changed by the Ministry of Energy and now need to be submitted for government review. According to the original amendments, Gazprom would retain its export monopoly on natural and dry lead gas but would have to purchase the gas it exports from independent producers. The share of export gas to be bought from independent producers should equal those producers’ share of gas production. The purchase price could be based on the formula for export netback parity that was proposed to liberalise domestic gas prices.
