Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom, the world’s largest gas producer, spent 52 percent less on purchases of the fuel in the second quarter after a pipeline blast halted imports from Turkmenistan.

The cost of gas purchases fell to 135.3 billion rubles ($4.7 billion) from 281.1 billion rubles in the first quarter, the Moscow-based company said on its Web site today. Operating expenses fell 14 percent from the previous quarter, to 559 billion rubles.

Gas imports from Turkmenistan, the biggest producer of the fuel in Central Asia, were halted in April after an explosion on the export pipeline to Russia. Gazprom and Turkmengaz, Turkmenistan’s state gas company, are yet to complete talks on resuming the supplies.

“Gazprom is saving about $3.4 billion a quarter after Turkmen imports stopped,” Maria Radina, a Moscow-based analyst at Nomura International Plc, said by telephone. “This will have a positive effect on Gazprom’s costs. The delay in resuming Turkmen purchases is positive news for Gazprom and helps accelerate the revival of its own production.”

Gazprom has used purchases of Central Asian gas to offset declining output at Siberian fields, mainly re-selling the fuel in Europe.

Gazprom had second-quarter net income of 192.6 billion rubles, an increase of 86 percent from the previous period. Net income fell 36 percent compared with a year earlier, beating Bloomberg’s median estimate of nine analysts by 11 percent.

Gas purchases rose 34 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, according to Bloomberg calculations. They had nearly tripled in the first quarter compared with the year-earlier period after Central Asian suppliers raised prices, the company said in August.

Gazprom shares gained 2.9 percent to 179.92 rubles as of 11:41 a.m.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at ashiryaevska@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 03:42 EST