Zinaida Greceanii: Gas prices could fall only from Q2, 2009

The prices of natural gas, delivered to Moldova by Russian Gazprom, could go down only starting with the second quarter of the next year, premier Zinaida Greceanai stated on Friday, December 12, presenting the report regarding the implementation of the Cabinet's program to the Parliament, Info-Prim Neo reports. The premier reminded that, in conformity with the agreement of the third parties, valid till 2011, the fluctuation of the oil price for the last 9 months is included in the formulae of calculating the gas prices. This is the only formula (with small exceptions) for all countries importing gas from Russia. “In these conditions, it is clear, and easy to calculate, that the gas price, enforced on October 1, 2008, is influenced by the relatively low price of oil at the end of September, as by the very big price of it in summer, 2008. This way, we can expect drop in the price of delivering gas from Russia and, respectively, reducing the domestic tariffs, that is starting with the quarter 2 of the next year,” Zinaida Greceanii said. “Even if this maths seems simple, unfortunately, there are many attempts of speculating upon this subject,” the premier added. The import price of natural gas to Moldova, established by Gazprom for the Q4, 2008 is $278.71 for 1,000 m3. The oil dropped from $143 a barrel in July to $47 in December, this year.