Armenia Pays More Than Other Customs Union Member Countries for Gas

Gas is several times more expensive for citizens of the Republic of Armenia than for the inhabitants of the other member countries of the Customs Union, reports local daily Haykakan Zhamanak.

Residents of Russia pay $126 USD per 1000 cubic meters of gas; in Belarus, the cost is $84 per 1000 cubic meters of gas; in Kazakhstan, $69; and in Armenia, $380.

"Basically, it turns out that Armenia's population pays 3 times as much for gas than Russia; 4.5 times as much as Belarus, and 5.5 times as much as Kazakhstan. 

"That is, if you went to pay the gas bill and found that that you will be paying, say, 60,000 AMD [about $150], recalculating this amount according to Russia’s domestic prices, it would be 20,000 AMD [about $50]; in Belarus, 13,000 AMD [about $32]; and in Kazakhstan, 11,000 AMD [about $27]. The cost of supplying gas to Armenia from Russia's largest gas fields, for example, Urengoy or Yamburg, is only 10–15% higher than supplying the same gas to, say, Pskov or Krasnodar. The resulting gas price might change by only 1–2%.

"As a result of Russian gas passing through the territory of Georgia, the gas price increases only by 10%, not more. In other words, all the calculations show that the objective price of gas sold to of a member of the Customs Union, that is, the population of Armenia, which forms part of the same area, cannot exceed $140–150, but now we are paying $380," reports the paper.