Price of imported natural gas to decrease in 2007

The price of imported natural gas will go down below 300 dollars per 1,000 cu m, the current price being about 310 dollars per 1,000 cu m, Marc Hirt, deputy managing director of Distrigaz Sud, told a news conference on Thursday.
This decrease in price will be due to the planned reduction of the price of a barrel of oil on the world market as the evolution of the price of natural gas is influenced by the price of oil. Marc Hirt said that it was not compulsory for this situation to affect the domestic price of gas.
Referring to the declassification of the privatisation contract asked for by President Traian Basescu, managing director of Distrigaz Sud Bernard Arnaud said, „It is a question of the company’s shareholders.”
„I presume that, if all the companies under consideration agree to declassify the contracts, then our shareholders will agree to it too,” said Arnaud.
The managing director of Distrigaz Sud insisted on voicing wish to sign long-term contracts with Petrom and Romgaz as „they ensure the safety of the natural gas market.”
„If we had accepted to sign the contract for the price requested by Petrom, a price higher than the one admitted by the National Natural Gas Regulatory Authority (ANRGN), then Distrigaz Sud would have had substantial losses and this is why the negotiations were quite long and ANRGN made the decision to increase the prices,” said Bernard Arnaud in connection with the recent increase in the price of gas. ROMPRES