Blue fuel anomaly: gas tariffs in Russia are higher than in Kazakhstan, Belarus and the Ukraine

The comparison of natural gas prices in different countries has revealed a surprising fact – Russian people overpay for their own fuel as compared with people of other countries, the Nezavisimaya gazeta writes.

In most European countries the nominal gas price is higher than in Russia. However, our own gas can’t be called cheap relative to the average incomes. Such sensational data was published by analysts of the RIA Rating yesterday.

The most expensive gas for population is in Sweden. In terms of Russian currency the price of 1 cubic meter of gas is about 52.9 rubles. Denmark is at the second place – 45.2 rubles for 1 cubic meter. The third and the fourth places in the rating belong to “problem” countries of the euro-zone – Greece (42.4 rubles per 1 cubic meter) and Italy (40.4 rubles per 1 cubic meter). But the compassion among the CIS states proved to be more interesting. The cheapest gas is in Kazakhstan (about 2.1 rubles per 1 cubic meter), not in Russia. And this is clearly, because the country doesn’t buy, but sells its own fuel abroad. But Belarus takes the second place – 2.6 rubles per 1 cubic meter. At the same time, we must remember that Belarus imports gas from Russia at reduced cost - $160-180 per 1 thousand cubic meters. But citizens of Belarus receive gas almost two times cheaper than its import price. The third place belongs to the Ukraine, where the population pays 3.6 rubles per 1 cubic meters during several recent years.