DUSHANBE, November 2, Asia-Plus — Prices of gasoline have risen more than 7 percent over a couple of days in Dushanbe.
The price of one liter of 96-octane gasoline in Dushanbe has risen from 2.60 somonis on October 31 to 2.80 somonis, with similar price rises in other regions of the country.
Mr. Nazmiddin Mirzoyev, the head of open joint-stock company (OJSC) Naftrason (state-controlled oil-product supply company), said in an interview with Asia-Plus that it cannot be ruled out that gasoline prices will continue to rise in Tajikistan, “but it will depend on world market trends.”
According to him, the latest more than 7 percent increase in gasoline prices has been traced from rising cost of oil on the world exchanges. “One barrel of oil now costs some $96, while on October 31 the price of barrel of oil was $94.5,” the Naftrason top manager said.
He further added that Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan provide the bulk of Tajikistan’s fuel imports. “Russian accounts for some 70 percent of Tajik fuel imports,” Mirzoyev said.
In the meantime, Yormahamd Begahmadov, the head of the Naftrason oil and gas department, said that their company meets only 15 percent of the country’s requirements in oil products. “At present, mainly, private companies are engaged in delivery of oil products to the country,” said the Naftrason official, “The largest of them are Zuhro (45 percent) and Akramzod (15 percent).”
According to figures provided by the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI), Tajikistan has produced little more than 20,000 of oil over the first nine months of this year, which is 14 percent or 2,555 tons more than in the same period of 2006.
