Gazprom OAO, the Russian energy giant, has entered into a joint venture with Nigeria to build a domestic gas pipeline, the company's chief executive officer said Tuesday.
"It's the Nigerian-Gazprom joint venture, we will be building the pipeline from gas fields in Nigeria to the north part of the country," Boris Ivanov said at a meeting of gas exporting nations in Doha.
Ivanov said the Nigerian government had asked Gazprom to participate in the project, adding that whether "this first leg becomes part of the trans-Saharan pipeline remains to be seen. But I think this pipeline will be part of the Nigerian infrastructure."
Ivanov also warned that his country would not negotiate its gas prices for the winter with European consumers such as the Ukraine.
"There are no price negotiations, if someone doesn't pay for the product they won't get it, there will be a problem this winter but I hope we can minimize it," Ivanov said.