Gazprom and Beltransgaz signed the contracts for gas supply to and transit across Belarus from 2012 through 2014. Gazprom and the State Property Committee of the Republic of Belarus also entered into the purchase and sale agreement for the remaining 50% stake in Beltransgaz.
Gazprom has agreed to a supply contract based on a charge of US$165/1,000 cm of natural gas in 2012. That is down from the US$280 per 1,000 cm paid this year and is less than half of what European consumers pay the natural gas company. Between 2013 and 2014 the prices will be calculated under the formula based on the following key components: the gas price for the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug consumers (established by the Russian Federal Tariff Service), the cost of gas transmission from a wellhead in the YaNAO to the Russian-Belarusian border, the cost of underground gas storage in Russia as well as Gazprom's expenses on gas marketing. It is also expected that the price formula components will be indexed to inflation. Beltransgaz shall partially pay for natural gas supplied by Gazprom in the second half of 2011 at the rate of $244.8/1000 cm, instead of the prices for the third and the fourth quarters calculated on the basis of the contract ($279.16 and $305.72 respectively).
The acquisition of the remaining 50% of Beltransgaz has been in negotiations for several months due to issue surrounding gas prices. With the purchase of the remaining 50% stake in Beltransgaz for US$2.5bn and Gazprom's 2007 50% purchase for the same amount, brings the total cost of acquiring Beltransgaz to US$5bn.