Expert: It Is Physically Impossible for Moldova to Replace Russian Gas

Moldova’s ability to replace Russian gas in case Gazprom supplies are disrupted is very limited, contrary to the assurances of the Moldovan authorities. This opinion was expressed by the deputy director of the Institute of Energy and Finance Alexey Belogoryev, noi.md reports citing nation-news.ru. “Replacement is possible through a gas pipeline from Romania, but its capacity is 1.5 billion cubic meters per year, and Moldova and the Transdniestrian region consume 3 billion cubic meters. There are also problems in the infrastructure inside Romania itself: it is unclear where to find the necessary gas. After all, 1.5 billion is not so little. That is, it is theoretically possible to replace half of the volume, but not completely,” the expert explained. The fate of the gas contract: Gazprom has not responded to any letter from Chisinau. According to him, even if Chisinau finds the necessary volumes, the cost of non-Russian blue fuel will be much higher. Moldova is not a gas transit country, like, for example, Ukraine, so it will not be able to use reverse supply schemes, as Kyiv did. “We need to understand that gas will be very expensive, because now it is sold at a big discount, and new purchases will be possible only taking into account the stock indices of a certain European hub. Moreover, there will be transportation costs from this hub. It will be very expensive. Ukraine has already faced this. However, Kyiv has the opportunity to make a virtual reverse of gas from Russia, saving on this, and Moldova has no such opportunity, since it is not a transit country,” Belogoryev concluded. Point