MOSCOW – The market price for gas in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), where a unified gas market is supposed to begin operating in 2025, will be determined in direct supply contracts between participants in this common market or in exchange trading, without price regulation.
This issue was agreed at a meeting chaired by the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Energy and Infrastructure Minister Adamkul Zhunusov, the EEC press service said.
“By the time of the launch of common markets, it is proposed to develop a methodology for pricing in regard to transportation services for gas, oil and oil products, as well as mechanisms to prevent the resale of gas acquired on the common market in third countries. The launch of the EAEU common gas market should lead to an increase in the number of market participants, as well as help lower wholesale gas prices for various categories of consumers,” the press release said.
“In the oil sector, if the project is successfully implemented, free shipment of oil and oil products will be ensured, the transparency of pricing will increase, and the efficiency of the use of investment potential will grow thanks to the consolidation of financial resources,” the release said.
The EEC said a consensus has been reached on a number of points of programs to create common gas, oil and oil product markets.
“We would like to accelerate work on the documents that we were instructed to work out by the leaders of EAEU nations as much as possible. Essentially, the package of documents on both projects should already be completed by the fall of this year,” Zhunusov was quoted as saying.
The participants in the meeting agreed on the status and format of the procedure for conducting exchange trading of gas that will be in effect until the rules for gas trading on the EAEU common market go into force and that will be approved at the level of deputy prime ministers of member countries with an act of the commission board.
The commission, together with the authorized bodies, will work out methodological recommendations for establishing exchange and over-the-counter price indictors on the EAEU common gas market, as well as the procedure for monitoring these indicators.
The EEC is the permanent supranational regulatory body of the EAEU, which currently includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
A year ago the EEC board approved a draft concept for establishing a common gas market that calls for forming this market by January 1, 2025; ensuring free shipment of gas acquired under direct contracts or on an exchange; maintaining market prices that ensure commercial profitability of gas sales on the common market; and for the member countries to make a coordinated decision on a transition to netback prices for gas on the territory of member nations.
