Novak: gas prices for the population in Russia are 40 times lower than in Europe

Russia in winter will be guaranteed to be provided with heat and light, since it has enough gas reserves, unlike Europe, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. According to him, the price of gas in Russia is 40 times lower than in Europe. He also believes that Russia did not violate the terms of the contract for gas supplies through Nord Stream.

“When compared, we have a thousand cubic meters of gas that costs $70–80 for industrial consumers, and even cheaper for the population… The difference is 40 times, and this is certainly our competitive advantage,” Novak said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin. “We are guaranteed to be provided with heat and light,” he added (quoted by RIA Novosti).

As Mr. Novak noted, domestic gas prices in Russia are regulated by the state. “For example, in recent years they have been indexed by 3-5%. Even, probably, to a greater extent by 3%,” he said. At the same time, the Russian vice-premier did not rule out further growth in exchange prices for gas in Europe. “In my opinion, it is possible,” he said.

According to Alexander Novak, in the situation with Nord Stream, the problem does not need to be “shifted from a sick head to a healthy one.” “Now the whole problem lies precisely on that side, because all the conditions of the repair contract have been completely violated, the conditions for transporting this equipment have been violated,” he believes.

Earlier today, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saidthat Russia cannot be called a reliable supplier, as it “no longer fulfills its contractual obligations for deliveries.”

Mr. Novak also disagrees with the view that Russian gas is “dirty”. “It’s not dirty, it’s one of the cleanest sources of energy in the world,” he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said that Russian gas is “the dirtiest in the world due to significant methane emissions during production and transportation, as well as corruption, blackmail and manipulation.”

From August 31 to September 3, Gazprom completely stopped deliveries via Nord Stream. The company explained this decision with planned repairs. Against this background, the price of the September futures for gas in Europe reached a record level since the beginning of March and at the moment it grew to $3,500 per 1,000 cubic meters. m.

Anastasia Larina