You're reading: Nord Stream tariff still double that of Ukrainian transit

Moscow - The tariff for gas transit via the Nord Stream pipeline was $76 for the entire length, or $6.2 per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers, in the first quarter of 2012, which is double that for transit through Ukraine ($3.08), Gazprom said in its financial statement. 

Gazprom fully pays for 100% of Nord Stream’s capacities on ‘pump or pay’ conditions.

The new gas pipeline started up on November 8, 2011, and while the system was undergoing its test run, very small amounts of gas were transported through it. In November-December of last year, the Nord Stream tariff stood at $206 for its entire length, or $17 per 100 km.

So far, the first branch of the pipeline has been 30% loaded. After it reaches 100%, the tariff (based on Gazprom’s current payments for Nord Stream) will be $27.2, or $2.22 per 100 km.

Based on the disclosed data, the use of both Nord Stream branches will cost Gazprom 45.3 billion rubles, or $1.5 billion, a year.

However, all of these calculations do not account for the cost of fuel gas at Gazprom’s gigantic Portovaya compressor station on the Russian coast, which is the heart of Nord Stream.