Moldova to explore new options for receiving gas if transit via Ukraine ceases - minister

CHISINAU. May 22 (Interfax) - The Moldovan government will explore new options for providing Transdniestria with natural gas if its transit from Russia via Ukraine ceases, Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said in Brussels on Tuesday while discussing energy security with European Energy Community officials.

Parlicov highlighted the importance of maintaining a steady gas supply to Transdniestria, given that the contract for transit shipments of Russian gas via Ukraine is about to expire.

"The right bank [of the Dniester River, i.e. mainland Moldova] will not obstruct supplies of Russian gas to the left bank [Transdniestria] after the transit contract expires," Parlicov said. "However, if the conventional route is blocked, we'll have to look for alternatives, like, for instance, the Vertical Corridor, which the Republic of Moldova joined recently," he said.

The Vertical Corridor is a project linking Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine for supplying gas not originating from Russia from terminals in the eastern Mediterranean to Moldova and Ukraine. Moldova officially joined the project in January 2024. The Vertical Corridor should run along the Trans-Balkan Pipeline route (Ukraine to Greece) in reverse mode. The Vertical Corridor concept implies not a conventional gas pipeline but rather a system linking existing national gas networks and other gas infrastructure for transit gas shipments and for enhancing energy security.

A five-year gas supply contract between Moldovagaz, Moldova's national gas operator, and Russia's Gazprom took effect on November 1, 2021. Since October 1, 2022, Gazprom has cut the daily volume of gas shipped to Moldova by 30% to 5.7 million cubic meters, explaining this in terms of technical problems stemming from a restriction of gas transit via Ukraine. Since then, Gazprom has provided Moldova with this exact amount of gas, which is less than 40% of the amount the country needs during cold seasons.

Moldova itself used gas supplied by Gazprom only before December 3, 2022. Since December 4, 2022, Moldova has supplied all this gas to Transdniestria, which in exchange covers over 80% of Moldova's demand for electricity. The contract with the Moldovan (Cuciurgan) Power Plant located in Transdniestria has been concluded through to the end of 2024.