The management of Russian concern Gazprom claims that till 2012 gas prices will rise.
Berlin, The only importer of gas to Slovakia, Russian concern Gazprom, anticipates that the prices of the commodity will double by 2012. some European suppliers of gas are already increasing prices just now. “In our opinion, by 2012 they will reach the pre-crisis level” said Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, Alexander Medvedev, for Financial Times Deutschland.
If the prognosis turns out to be right, it will mean almost double the wholesale prices at present.
Medvedev’s words have a lot of sway in the sector.
Gazprom covers about one quarter of consumption in Europe. The concern monitors price trends, which it cannot directly dictate, however.
Due to the crisis, demand from the side of industry dropped and slate gas from the USA took care of the excess supply on the market. The traditional consequence of this was a drop in prices.
In the summer of 2008, on the German trading platform Gaspool a megawatt-hour of gas was sold for over EUR 30. One year later it was already less than EUR 10. since the autumn of last year, however, gas prices have been rising again and the price of a megawatt-hour is currently in the range of EUR 17 – 18.
Medvedev says Gazprom wants to increase its share on the European market. “We expect Russian gas to account for more than 30% of the European gas market by 2020” he said. Many experts agree with his prediction.
(SME: source TASR)