Transdniestria expects to receive 3 mln cubic meters of gas from Moldova on loan for urgent needs

CHISINAU. Jan 27 (Interfax) - The Transdniestrian region expects to receive 3 million cubic meters of gas from Moldova for urgent needs, Transdniestrian leader Vadim Krasnoselsky said at a meeting of the operational headquarters on Monday.

"Transdniestria is counting on a positive decision from the relevant Moldovan commission, which is currently reviewing the issue of granting 3 million cubic meters of gas on loan. Tiraspoltransgaz undertakes to pay for or return this volume. This decision could have been made by the Moldovan side a week ago," Krasnoselsky said.

At the same time, a number of media outlets reported on Monday that Moldovagaz is negotiating with the Hungarian companies MOL and MVM about possible gas purchases for Transdniestria. Deliveries could begin in February if agreements are reached soon. For now, the talks are focused on supplies until the end of March and early April. The route and cost of delivery remain unclear. The Iasi-Chisinau gas pipeline's capacity will not be sufficient to supply Transdniestria with even 5 million cubic meters of gas per day. Over the past two years until December 31, 2024, Transdniestria received 5.7 million cubic meters of gas per day from Gazprom via Ukraine.

At the operational headquarters meeting, Transdniestrian Economic Development Minister Sergei Obolonik said that the number of accidents on power lines has fallen since the start of the energy crisis. "There are fewer [accidents] now. At the beginning of the energy crisis, which led to an increase in network loads, teams were responding to 150-200 calls per day, but in recent days the number of requests has dropped to 60. One of the factors that affected the reduction in accident rates is the warm weather - people are using less electricity for heating premises," Obolonik said.

The meeting also discussed the gradual transition of social institutions to diesel generators. This is necessary because the gas reserves saved by halting energy-intensive industrial enterprises at the end of December are running out. These reserves will last at most until early February.

Russian gas supplies to Transdniestria ceased on January 1, 2025, after Ukraine halted the transportation of Russian gas through its gas transmission system. In response, Gazprom reduced gas supplies through Moldova to zero cubic meters per day, citing Moldova's historical debt for gas supplies.

The Moldovan authorities do not recognize the $709 million debt to Gazprom, although the management of Moldovagaz confirms it.

The gas supply contract between Gazprom and its subsidiary Moldovagaz remains in effect until October 2026. The technical possibility of supplying gas to Transdniestria through Moldova via the Trans-Balkan gas corridor also exists.

Transdniestria has been in a state of economic emergency since December 10, 2024. An economic emergency was also imposed in right-bank Moldova on December 16.

Krasnoselsky visited Moscow on January 10-14, where he discussed the possibility of resuming gas supplies with the Russian Energy Ministry. Upon his return to Tiraspol, he said that he expected Russia to resume gas supplies to Transdniestria soon as "humanitarian aid."

However, Chisinau and Tiraspol have yet to agree on the mechanism for resuming gas supplies to Transdniestria.