Turkmen Gas Prices To Go Up?

Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov said over the weekend that his country was planning to raise the price for Turkmen gas from USD 65 to USD 100/ths cm in September 2006. Earlier RosUkrEnergo (RUE) indicated that it would have to increase gas prices if Turkmenistan increases its gas price, while Ukraine said it would retaliate by raising the transportation fee for Gazprom’s gas exports. However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov said the price hike suggested by Niyazov would mainly affect Russia and would not have a direct impact on Ukraine. Concorde Capital: We believe Niyazov’s announcement is a signal to the both Ukraine and Russia that the cost of Turkmen gas may increase. This supports our belief that gas prices are going to go up in 2H06.