DUSHANBE, January 6, 2012, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement on Uzbek natural gas deliveries to Tajikistan.

We will recall that Tajik delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Murodali Alimardon, visited Tashkent on January 5 to discuss Uzbek gas shipments to Tajikistan this year and prices for them.

Head of Tojiktransgaz (Tajik natural-gas distributor), Saidahmad Sharofiddinov, told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon that the sides reached an agreement and Tajikistan plans to buy some 200 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan this year.

“Uzbekistan resumed gas shipments to Tajikistan on January 6,” the Tojiktransgaz top manager noted.

According to him, the priced for Uzbek deliveries to Tajikistan will be coordinated later.  However, he said that compared to 2011 the prices will be lower.

Sharofiddinov added that Tajikistan imported 180 million cubic meters 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.  In the third quarter, Tajikistan bought natural gas from Uzbekistan at US$284.33 per 1,000 cubic meters and the price for the fourth quarter was US$311.00.

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.