Over the past two weeks, the price for one liter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Dushanbe has decreased from 8.20 somonis to 7.30 somonis (12.33-percent decrease).
An official source within the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) says the price reduction was facilitated by the lifting of restrictions that were introduced in accordance with safety rules for transportation and use of the liquefied natural gas during summer period.
“Due to the heat, the LNG imports were lower, and now that the heat has subsided, the LNG imports have increased. Besides, security work has been completed at some enterprises. In recent days, LNG price has reduced twice: first from 7.70 somonis to 7.50 somonis and as of yesterday, the price has settled at 7.30 somonis,” the source added.
In Dushanbe, gas stations resumed 24-hour liquefied natural gas sales two weeks ago. Before, that retail LNG sales during the daytime were suspended. The MoEWR has attributed this to high temperatures.
It should be noted that since the beginning of the second half of this year there has been a sharp increase in the LNG prices — from 5.80 somonis to 8.30 somonis per liter (43.1-percent increase).
According to data from the Antimonopoly Agency, Tajikistan has imported 195,500 tons of LNG over the first six months of this year, which is 12,300 somonis less than in the same period last year.
Kazakhstan, which is Central Asia’s biggest oil producer, provides the bulk of Tajikistan’s LNG imports, accounting for about 86 percent of Tajikistan’s LNG imports. LNG is also delivered to Tajikistan from the Russian Federation.
More than 60 percent of motor vehicles in Tajikistan use liquefied natural gas as fuel.
