DUSHANBE, October 6, 2009, Asia-Plus — Uztransgaz (Uzbek natural-gas supplier) wants Tojiktransgaz (Tajik state natural-gas distributor) to make prepayments for gas deliveries to Tajikistan every ten days, the Tojiktransgaz director general Saidmahmad Sharofiddinov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, Tajikistan paid off its 20 million U.S. dollars gas debts to Uzbekistan in late September after Uzbekistan halted supplies on September 26.
“In order to pay off the debt we have taken a US10 million loan from Orienbonk that has been divided among four companies – Tojiktransgaz, Barqi Tojik power holding, Tajik Aluminum Company (Talco) and Tojikcement (Dushanbe cement plant),” said Sharofiddinov. “Thereby, Talco and Tojikcement have paid off their debts to Tojiktransgaz – US$100,000 and US$600,000 respectively – and made prepayments.”
He added that they had also used other methods of financing, including the scheme of mutual settlement of accounts.
We will recall that that under an agreement on mutual settlement of accounts reached between Barqi Tojik, Uzbekenergo, Tojiktransgaz and Uztransgaz in early August, Barqi Tojik supplies 500 million kWh of electrical power to Uzbekenergo in August-September this year and Uzbekenergo, for its part, transfers funds to Uztransgaz.
“Due to this scheme we have managed to repay US$6 million to Uztransgaz,” the Tojiktransgaz top manager noted.
“In all, we have managed to pay off our debt and make prepayments in an amount of US$1 million,” said Sharofiddinov, “The Uzbek side now demands that we make prepayments for gas shipments as it is provided for by the agreement signed between our companies last year. On average, Uzbekistan now supplies natural gas to Tajikistan for 1.2-1.5 million U.S. dollars during ten days and if we do not collect these funds now, we may be left without gas in the second half of October.”
In the meantime, SomonSughdgaz now owes some 1.6 million U.S. dollars to Tojiktransgaz, and Barqi Tojik and the empties-producing enterprise Lal now owe US$900,000 for gas consumptions each. Total gas debts of other industrial enterprises currently amount to 1 million U.S. dollars.
This year, Uzbekistan sells its natural gas to Tajikistan for US$240 per 1,000 cubic meters. Tajikistan plans to buy some 530 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan this year and it has received some 191 million cubic meters of Uzbek gas to this date.
“Negotiations on the Uzbek gas shipments in 2010 have not yet started but when they start, the Tajik side will insist on lowering the gas prices,” Sharofiddinov said.
