Gazprom's biggest petrochemical unit, Sibur, signed a contract Wednesday with Beltransgaz, Belarus' state pipeline company

Gazprom's biggest petrochemical unit, Sibur, signed a contract Wednesday with Beltransgaz, Belarus' state pipeline company, to supply gas to the country amid disputes over prices for Russian fuel. Sibur will ship 1 billion cubic meters of gas to Belarus this year, including 200 million cubic meters to be delivered this month, the company said in a statement. It did not disclose the price of the fuel or the terms of the agreement. Gazprom, which exports about 80 percent of its fuel through Ukraine and 15 percent through Belarus, stopped gas deliveries to Belarus for one day on Feb. 18 amid a dispute over prices. Gazprom also halted transit shipments to Europe via Belarus. The company wants to raise the price Belarus pays for gas by 56 percent to $50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Since the beginning of the year, Gazprom had not sold its own gas to Belarussian customers, delivering instead fuel from different producers. Itera, Russia's second-largest gas producer in 2002, is also prepared to resume gas supplies to Belarus for $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters, RosBusinessConsulting reported, citing a company statement. Itera suspended gas supplies to Belarus on Feb. 12.