Russia''s Gazprom to resume gas supplies to Belarus, Greece
11 Aug 2007
Mumbai: Russia's Gazprom will resume gas supplies to Belarus after the region settled its debts with the company. Russia has already resumed gas supplies to Greece, after completing repairs at the Bulgarian section of a pipeline that carries natural gas to Greece via Bulgaria.
The explosion at the Bulgarian pipeline near Blagoevgrad, 50 miles south of Sofia, occurred on August 6, 2007. The damaged section was repaired and transit of Russian natural gas resumed on August 9, agency reports said.
Greece sources 80 per cent of its gas requirements from Russia via Bulgaria, according to Russian news agency reports. This amounts to some 2.7 billion cubic meters each year, the report added.
Gazprom had earlier said that it would cut gas supplies to Belarus by 45 per cent because of delays made in payments for agreed gas supplies between 2007 and 2011. Belarus owes Russia $46 million on gas supplies.
Gazprom has since revealed that Belarus has settled its debts and that gas exports will therefore resume. The Russian gas monopoly said it would continue to provide gas as long as Belarus meets the terms of the supply agreement.
