Русский
Russia’s Gazprom has apparently confirmed the resumption of gas supplies from Turkmenistan, with supplies resuming within the framework of the effective 25-year contract signed between the Russian gas holding Gazprom and Turkmengaz in 2003. Gazprom suspended buying Turkmen gas in 2016. Natural gas exports are among the main sources for income for Turkmenistan’s budget.
Gas purchases from Turkmenistan were halted in January 2016 primarily due to a severe pricing and commercial dispute between Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom and Turkmengaz. This was compounded at that time by falling global energy prices, and a slump in the international gas market, leading Gazprom to conclude that Turkmen gas was overpriced,
The suspension initiated by Russia included:
- Pricing Disagreements: Gazprom sought to retroactively revise prices for previous years to reflect the global oil and gas price crash. While Turkmenistan demanded a higher price, Russia opted to source cheaper supplies from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
- The Stockholm Arbitration: Gazprom sued Turkmengaz in the Stockholm arbitration court, seeking roughly US$5 billion in compensation for alleged overpayments made between 2010 and 2015.
- Market Shifts: A deteriorating international gas market and internal financial constraints for Gazprom Export led Russia to trigger a complete halt on Turkmen imports until a commercial settlement could be agreed upon.
The decision by Russia to resume imports of Turkmen gas is a reflection of the changing nature of Eurasian gas supplies, helps avoid Black Sea conflict areas and boosts both South Russia’s gas infrastructure and available energy import resources while also boosting the Turkmen economy.
