Naftogaz Claims $95 Gas Price Will Remain Till Year-End.

Olexander Bolkisev, the new Naftogaz chairman, claimed that the gas price of $95 per thousand cubic meters will be retained till the end of 2006. Vladimir Nesterenko: We doubt Bolkisev’s claim, as it is still unclear where Naftogaz will get about 20-22 bcm of gas needed for the period of September-December this year. The January gas agreement covered only 34 bcm of importedgas this year, which is due to run out around August-September. We still expect a price increase around that time, the scale of which will depend on the political situation.