DUSHANBE, August 2, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Uzbekistan has raised nature-gas prices for Tajikistan for the third quarter of 2011.

“Tajikistan now buys natural gas from Uzbekistan at the rate of US$284.33 per 1,000 cubic meters, while the price for the second quarter was US$249.19 per 1,000 cubic meters,” the source at Tojiktrangas (Tajik natural-gas distributor) said.  In the first quarter, Tajikistan bought natural gas from Uzbekistan at US$227.85 per 1,000 cubic meters.

We will recall that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement on the price for the first quarter of 2011 at the end of last December.  The gas negotiations were conducted with top managers of Uztransgaz (Uzbekistan’s state gas producer) and the First Deputy Uzbek Prime Minister, Rustam Azimov.  Uzbekistan set the gas price for 2011 at the rate of US$262.00 per 1,000 cubic meters, while Tajikistan asked Uzbekistan to decrease its price for gas.  The sides agreed that in the first quarter of 2011, Tajikistan will receive Uzbek natural gas at the rate of US$227.85 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Last year, 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.

Tajikistan plans to buy some 180 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan this year.  The gas prices vary quarterly depending on the world trends and Tajikistan must make prepayments every ten days.

Over the first six months of this year, Tajikistan has reportedly imported 88 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan.