Turkmenistan and Gazprom have discussed raising annual shipments to 50 billion cubic meters over the next three years
Turkmenistan is to sign a major gas deal with Russia for the second half of 2006, Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov said.
"A Russian delegation is due here over the next few days. They will sign a contract on Turkmen gas shipments for the second half of this year. ... We'll agree on the price and volumes and sign that contract," Niyazov said in televised remarks.
Russia and Turkmenistan signed a framework agreement in 2003 on long-term gas shipments and have since regularly reviewed its terms.
The pricing deal between Gazprom and its Ukrainian counterpart, Naftogaz Ukrainy, who buys a mixture of Russian and Turkmen gas from Gazprom, expires at the end of June, and Ukraine is keen to avoid another price increase on July 1.
Under Turkmenistan's current agreement with Russia, Central Asia's top natural gas producer is due to export 30 billion cubic metres of gas at a price of $65 per 1,000 cubic metres in the first half of 2006.
Turkmenistan and Gazprom have discussed raising annual shipments to 50 billion cubic meters over the next three years. Turkmenistan currently produces about 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year and exports two-thirds of that, mainly to Gazprom. A small part of its exports goes to Iran.
