Rosneft may buy 14 bcm of gas from Gazprom in 2016 - sources
MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - Rosneft may buy 14 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Gazprom in 2016.
Several market sources told Interfax that the contract has practically been agreed upon.
Interfax did not obtain commentary from Rosneft and Gazprom.
In 2016 Rosneft will become the main gas supplier for the power plants of Inter RAO , with which a 25-year contract on the purchase of up to 35 bcm of gas a year was signed. In 2015 Inter RAO's contract for the purchase of 14-15 bcm of gas year with Novatek ended.
Rosneft Vice President Vlada Rusakova said on Wednesday said that the company, in addition to its own production, guaranteed its portfolio for gas purchases from processors and traders. Next year, she said, Rosneft, as one of the largest independent producers of gas, is also planning to buy gas on the exchange.
In 2013 Rosneft, when presenting its strategy, said that as at January 1, 2013 it had contracted up to 72 bcm of gas a year according to long-term contracts.
The contract of Rosneft and Inter RAO was signed according take-or-pay conditions, it envisages gas supplies to all plants, except for the Kaliningrad and Sochi plants (due to their geographical location). Novatek is interested in remaining the gas supplier to the Kostromskaya state and district power plant (GRES) after 2015, Novatek Leonid Mikhelson said earlier. This plant's consumption is about 3.5 bcm of gas a year.
