The agreement also intends an appreciable increase in gas shipments to Finland (by over 15 percent) with reaching six billion cubic meters annually by 2008, the Russian gas concern's communique says.
The agreement is in realization of the clauses of the Memorandum on the Continuation of Cooperation Between Gazprom and Gasum, signed in September 2004.
This agreement coordinates the terms of gas supplies with those of the sale of energy carriers on the European and Finnish markets.
The sides have also decided to set up a joint working group to study terms for the sale of additional natural gas near the city of Turku in Western Finland.
The first contract for the supply of up to 1.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Finland from the former USSR was concluded in 1971. Supplies of gas began in 1974. Over 30 years Finland has received 75 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas. In 2004 shipments reached 4.95 billion cubic meters. This year, as provided for in the export contract, shipments of Russian gas are expected to reach 5.2 billion cubic meters.
