From Mr Mikhail Korchemkin.

Sir, Dmytro Firtash makes hundreds of millions of dollars a year, not because he can sell gas at a higher price than Gazprom (FT Investigation, July 14). His wealth is based on the discounted price of gas offered by the Russian gas monopoly. According to financial reports, in the first half of 2005 Gazprom was selling Russian gas to RosUkrEnergo at $93 per thousand cubic meters (mcm). In the second half the price was reduced to $80, which is the only price reduction reported by Gazprom last year. Note that RosUkrEnergo exports gas to Europe, where the average border price increased from $174/mcm in the first half to $205 in the second half of the year.