Moldovagaz Admits Resumption of Russian Gas Supplies for Whole Moldova

Following Energy Minister Victor Parlicov, the head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, admitted that once again they would buy Russian gas directly from Gazprom not only for the left bank, but also for the rest of Moldova, controlled by Chisinau. Ceban said on 29 January on the program “New Week with Anatolie Golea” on TV8 that supplies could resume in May if Moscow offered a favorable price. It is also important what price would we have on international markets by then. “Everything depends on what will be our gas supplier in May. The contract with Energocom expires on 30 April. From May, we are likely to resume supplies if there is an acceptable price from Gazprom under our 2021 contract. By releasing part of the volume in Tiraspol-Transgaz, we can cover the volume of about 83 million cubic meters until September. I think this will be enough for the summer period,” the head of Moldovagaz said. According to him, Transnistria would need from 4 to 4.5 million cubic meters of gas per day in summer, while the right bank consumes from 1 to 1.2 million cubic meters per day. “The emergency regime is no longer in force, and now Moldovagaz has to buy gas on tender’s basis from suppliers who can provide the requested volumes at the lowest price,” Ceban said. *** Last week, Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said in the Freedom program on TV8 that Chisinau was no longer dependent on the contract with Gazprom. However, Russian gas could return to the right bank of the Dniester if the Russian supplier offered a lower price than that set on European exchanges. The minister said that for the moment only the Transnistrian region depended on the gas supplied by the Russian concern, while the right bank consumed blue fuel from the last year’s reserves. Earlier, Energocom and Moldovagaz signed a contract for the purchase and sale of natural gas to meet the consumers’ needs of on the right bank of the Dniester. The contract provides for the supply of an estimated 451 million m3 of gas between January and April 2024 at a price of 550 euros per 1,000 m3. After its expiry, Moldovagaz will return to purchasing from other sources.