OREANDA-NEWS. May 10, 2012. The Government of Belarus has confirmed that the investor they are currently seeking for OJSC Grodno Azot is expected to supply the company with natural gas at an affordable price.

A statement to that extent is made in Belarus’ industrial development programme for 2012-2020.

One of the key priorities indicated in the programme is that the government is “looking for investors that have access to raw materials”.

As previously reported, Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko approached Russia’s Gazprom with a business proposal to retool Belarusian chemical company Grodno Azot or create a similar enterprise.

“I approached him Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller with a proposal to come to grips with Grodno Azot, retool and upgrade the company, a build a new enterprise like that”, Lukashenko told reporters.

“It would come to around USD 1.5-2 billion and Gazprom can afford the price”, Lukashenko said.

The Belarusian government considered the prospects of Russia’s OJSC Sibur Mineral Fertilizer (a Gazprom affiliate) buying a stake in Grodno Azot to implement a fertilizer production consolidation project within the CIS framework.

OJSC Grodno Azot is a Belarusian mineral fertilizer producer under the umbrella of state-owned Belneftekhim petrochemical industries concern. Belarus’ government currently holds a 99.97% stake in Grodno Azot, which uses natural gas as a basic raw material.