Venezuela boosts oil subsidies to Cuba
Venezuela has increased oil subsidies to Cuba from approximately $3 billion in 2006 to possibly more than $4 billion this year, according to a University of Miami report to be released today.
Venezuela is shipping 94,103 barrels of oil a day to Cuba, the Miami Herald cited experts at the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies calculated, based on official Havana figures issued last week.
Last year Cuba received about $3.3 billion in oil products from Venezuela, up from $2.7 billion in 2005.
The Miami Herald said Caracas has declined to explain the payment system, but experts think Havana gets the energy assistance free of charge.
During the Cold War, Cuba was heavily reliant on the Soviet Union, which provided the island nation with some $4 billion to $6 billion annually in subsidies.
"Cuba is repeating chapter and verse what it did in the '70s and '80s with Russia," Jorge Pinon, ICCAS energy expert, said.
Turkmenistan, China in gas talks
Officials from China and Turkmenistan are holding natural gas talks in Beijing that may have far-reaching consequences not only for bilateral relations, but also for other Central Asia states and Russia.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow and Chinese President Hu Jintao signed agreements two weeks ago and are continuing gas talks. The two sides also secured a treaty on Chinese investment to construct a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China.
The price of gas to be delivered by Turkmenistan is the main issue discussed during the talks being conducted by the Turkmenistani delegation in Beijing, Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported.
Aleksey Maslov, professor at the Russian University of Friendship of Nations, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that this is extremely disadvantageous for Russia, which was going to deliver gas to China at prices exceeding $100.
He said, "The situation in Turkmenistan is reminiscent of the situation in Kazakhstan, which unexpectedly reached agreement with China and offered its oil and gas at lower prices and thus pushed Moscow aside from contracts with Beijing."
Estonian gas prices to grow 9 percent
The energy market regulator has endorsed new price ceilings of Estonia's natural gas utility Eesti Gaas; the price of gas for smaller household consumers is to rise by 9 percent starting in October.
The new prices are based on an agreement Eesti Gaas is about to reach with the supplier, the Russian gas giant Gazprom, Marge Randmaa, marketing manager, was cited as saying in the Baltic News Service.
Rises in the procurement price of gas and the price for the end consumer have the same proportion, she said.
Eesti Gaas and Gazprom have in principle agreed to amend the gas price formula. If until now the price of gas purchased by Eesti Gaas depended on the world market price of heavy fuel oil, then henceforth also the price of light fuel oil will be included in the formula.
The agreement on the new price formula has not yet been signed. Once this happens Eesti Gaas will be ready to make public the projected rise in the procurement price of natural gas, Randmaa said.
Gazprom is the largest shareholder in Eesti Gaas with a stake of 37 percent.
Closing oil prices, Aug. 2, 3 p.m. London
Brent crude oil: $75.11
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $76.13
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Copyright 2007 by UPI
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