European consumers should be prepared for the price of gas to rise by up to 17 per cent, reaching new highs next year because of the rise in the price of oil, the deputy chief executive of Gazprom has warned.

Alexander Medvedev, who is the deputy chairman of Gazprom’s management committee, said he expected gas prices in western Europe to rise to $300-$350 per thousand cubic metres because the price is linked by supply contracts to the cost of oil products such as heating oil.