Reports say Gazprom offering Lithuania gas at $370 per 1,000 cubic meters, PM denies this
VILNIUS. Feb 26 (Interfax/BNS) - Russian gas giant Gazprom is offering to supply gas to Lithuania at a price of $370 per 1,000 cubic meters, Lithuanian newspaper Verslo Zinios quoted sources as saying.
Gazprom, which is currently holding talks with the country concerning the conditions of gas supplies, has included in its offers additional conditions that Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has said are unclear and unacceptable, the newspaper said.
The written proposals Gazprom presented to Lithuania contain a discount on the current gas price of around $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, as well as a number of other conditions, the sources said.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said the price of gas was $470-$480 per 1,000 cubic meters in January.
Gazprom's proposals do not mention any changes in pricing principles, about which Lithuania has filed complaints with the European Commission. Gazprom bases pricing principles on the derived average basket price for petroleum products.
But the Lithuanian prime minister himself was unable to confirm an offer of $370 had been made.
"As far as I understand, the negotiations will start next week but the value is different from the price you mentioned. We seek to lower the price for Lithuania as much as possible," The Lithuania Tribune quoted Butkevicius as telling reporters on Tuesday in response to a question whether the price was $370, which matched the price paid by Germany.
Asked to provide more details, he said that he could not make any comments. "I definitely won't tell you, but you are not right about the price of gas in Germany," he was quoted as saying.
The company sent Lithuania the offers at the end of last week. Butkevicius confirmed at that time that talks with Gazprom were continuing not only on gas prices, but also concerning issues with transporting gas to the Kaliningrad region, with the EU's Third Energy Package and with Gazprom's stake in the companies Amber Grid and Lietuvos Dujos.
The Lithuanian government is working towards lower gas prices from Gazprom.
