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Possible delays in gas deliveries are not going to disturb West European customers. When the West Germans and the French signed contracts with the Soviets in late 1981 and in 1982, they reportedly agreed to minimum gas prices that would be roughly equivalent to the cost of oil, then $34 per bbl. Since that time, however, oil has dipped to $29 per bbl., and the Europeans are trying to renegotiate their gas deals. Moreover, conservation and the recession have slashed European energy demand. Says Jean-Marie Chevalier, professor of economics at the University of Paris Nord: "The immediate problem in France is not a shortage of energy, but a surplus. We will not need the natural gas from the Soviets." It may be a long time before Moscow gets a payoff from its Siberian showpiece.