Gazprom is offering interest-free loans to Turkmenistan hoping to keep the price for Central Asian gas low.
The Russian oil giant suggested it could finance Turkmen gas infrastructure projects in an effort to keep the price below European levels. Gazprom will annually provide $240-480 mln to Turkmenistan. The company would have to borrow the money at 6%-8% annual interest. Gazprom suggested two formulas for calculating the price. One takes in equal proportions the average European wholesale price, Ukraine's domestic price and the price in southern Russia for the previous six months. The other takes the European wholesale price and the Ukrainian price.