19 Jan 2011 17:04

Corrected - Gazprom to import 2.1% more gas from Central Asia in 2011

(Magnitude, direction of change altered in headline, first paragraph)

MOSCOW. Jan 19 (Interfax) - Gazprom will buy 38.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) from producers in Central Asia in 2011, 2.1% more than in 2010, Gazprom said in a statement.

Gazprom bought just under 38 bcm of gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan last year.

The Gazprom board of directors discussed the issue of the purchase, transit and sale of gas in CIS countries and authorized work to raise the efficiency of the gas market's operation at a meeting on Wednesday.

The board directed company management to continue work to optimize the volumes and prices of the gas imports from Central Asia, and to uphold Gazprom's interests as the Customs Union and the common economic space are formed.