Energy policy of Russia and in a few cases explicit political demands are evident. Starting 1 January 2007 Gazprom increased the price of natural gas to Azerbaijan from US$110 to $235 per thousand cubic metres. (At the time, Gazprom charged the EU US$250.) Azerbaijan refused to pay this price and the gas supply to Azerbaijan stopped. On its side, Azerbaijan stopped oil exports to and via Russia. A year earlier, pro-Russian Armenia was hit with the same 100% price increase as Western-oriented Georgia, Vladimir Socor has observed. The Russia-Belarus energy dispute began when Russian state-owned gas supplier Gazprom demanded an increase in gas prices
Gazprom Neft Gazprom Neft Novy Port with Gazprom Neft as the operator of the project. In spring 2011, Gazprom Neft confirmed the viability of year-round supply from the field by sea. The Novoportovskoye field will be developed in two phases, first focussing on the southern part of the field where peak production will reach 5 mln tonnes of oil per year. The second phase will look at the northern part of the field, where peak production is expected to reach 3 mln tonnes of oil per year. The Messoyakha Group of oil and gas fields consists of the West-Messoyakha and East-Messoyakha sites.