Wholesale Gas Prices in Kazakhstan to Rise by 33%

The wholesale price of commercial gas will increase in Kazakhstan due to production problems and the need to attract investors to the sector, Orda.kz reports.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin announced the planned increase on the sidelines of a government meeting.

Private companies do not enter gas development because it is simply not profitable for them. Unfortunately, because of this, we are no longer among the leading countries in terms of development and reserves. Price is an incentive and an attractive condition for investors. Therefore, we will have to raise wholesale gas prices again this year in order to attract investors to this sector. Otherwise, gas will become more expensive for another reason — because we will import it, and the countries supplying gas to us will not spare us,Zhumangarin said.

He noted that the increase applies only to wholesale commercial gas. The price will rise by 33% from July 1. Zhumangarin said the measure would add about 0.2 percentage points to inflation.

To continue supplying gas to the population on current terms, we need to find it underground, extract it and deliver it. To do this, we need to raise tariffs today. We are also considering a slight increase in railway service tariffs. We are still thinking and calculating,he added.

According to Zhumangarin, the possible increase in railway tariffs could add another 0.3–0.5 percentage points to inflation.

Original author: Ilya Astakhov

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