Natural gas prices may have to double

Domestic natural gas prices may have to double in order for Russian gas producers to stop losing money, the head of natural gas giant Gazprom said Tuesday. Russian natural gas is sold to domestic consumers for about $11 per 1,000 cubic meters (35,100 cubic feet), a fraction of the world-market price of about $80. Gazprom, Russia's largest company, also sells gas on international markets. Gazprom's chief executive Rem Vyakhirev said domestic prices need to rise 150 percent to 200 percent to bring necessary investment to producing companies. A member of Gazprom's board of directors, Vladimir Rezunenko, told the conference that the company's production this year would fall by 20 billion cubic meters, or about 3 percent, because of chronically low investment, Interfax reported.