Russia's gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.RS) is taking a controlling stake in
Kyrgyzstan's debt-ridden state gas company for $1, Kyrgyzgaz said on
Friday.
"The price has been set at one dollar" for 75% of the company,
considering its estimated debt of $38 million, said Kyrgyzgaz director
Turgunbek Kulmurzayev.
Gazprom is eventually planning to buy 100% of the company and
invest 20 billion rubles ($660 million) over five years, he said.
"The issue of Kyrgyzgaz's privatisation will be resolved by April 1, 2013."
Deputy Director Kuralbek Naskeyev said Gazprom intended to
transport gas from Russia through either Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan, as
there is no direct link.
He added that Kyrgyzgaz also hoped to build a pipeline in the north of the country to transport gas to China.
"But the main thing is that Gazprom will be doing exploration in Kyrgyzstan," Naskeyev told reporters.
He said the company was recently evaluated by Deloitte
accounting firm, which concluded that its state-owned stake was worth
$38 million--the same size as its debt.
Gazprom said in a statement Friday that its chief Alexei
Miller met with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev to discuss the
purchase and other forms of energy cooperation.
Kyrgyzgaz is 82.3% owned by the state.
The small Central Asian country buys most of its gas from
Uzbekistan, although there are gas fields in the south of the country,
which Gazprom estimates to hold six billion cubic meters (212 billion
cubic feet) of recoverable natural gas.