DUSHANBE, January 5, 2012, Asia-Plus — A Tajik government delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Murodali Alimardon has departed for Tashkent today for a one-day visit to discuss Uzbek natural gas deliveries to Tajikistan in 2012.
A well-informed source in the government says the delegation members include Minister of land Reclamation and Water Resources Rahmat Bobokalonov, Head of Barqi Tojik Power Holding Abdullo Yorov, Chairman of the Committee for Geodesy, Cartography and Land Resources Mamadtoir Zokirov, Head of Tojiktransgaz (Tajik natural-gas distributor) Saidahmad Sharofiddinov, First Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmoudjon Sobirov and senior representatives from President’s Executive Office.
We will recall that Uzbekistan stopped gas shipments to Tajikistan Wednesday (January 4) morning as the agreement between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on gas supplies in 2011 expired.
The Tajik MFA spokesman added that Uzbek ambassador to Tajikistan was summoned to the Tajik MFA Wednesday morning and Tajik president’s message to Uzbek president was handed to him.
Tajikistan planned to buy some 180 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan in 2011.
The gas prices vary quarterly depending on the world trends and Tajikistan must make prepayments every ten days.
In the first quarter of 2011, Tajikistan bought natural gas from Uzbekistan at US$227.85 per 1,000 cubic meters, while the price for the second quarter was US$249.19 per 1,000 cubic meters, and in the third quarter, Tajikistan bought natural gas from Uzbekistan at US$284.33 per 1,000 cubic meters.
In 2010, an average price of 1,000 cubic meters of Uzbek natural gas for Tajikistan was US$240.00; in the first quarter of 2010, the price of 1,000 cubic meters of Uzbek gas was US$231.00 and in the fourth quarter, it rose to US$254.00.
