Gas import from Azerbaijan in Moldova's interests - minister
BAKU. April 4 (Interfax) - The diversification of gas supply sources, including imports from Azerbaijan, plays an important role in securing Moldova's energy supply, Moldovan Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu said.
"Natural gas will continue to play an important role in Moldova's energy structure, both in terms of local power generation and providing flexibility and balance in the wider European network. Therefore, we would like to see the vertical corridor [a project to create a non-Russian gas supply route from terminals in the east Mediterranean to Moldova and Ukraine] develop. This is a key project for the future of Moldova's energy sector. Overall, the continuous diversification of supply sources, including imports from Azerbaijan, will enable us to meet our energy needs," the minister said at the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council in Baku on Friday.
He said that Moldova was committed to working with other countries on the Southern Gas Corridor and to "our common interests - energy security, sustainability, and regional integration."
He also said that Chisinau played an important role in the Southern Gas Corridor project.
"Moldova is the first country to commercially utilize the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector [an offshoot of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, the European component of the Southern Gas Corridor], and one of the first to benefit from the import of LNG to Alexandroupolis. We have demonstrated the commercial viability of the Vertical Gas Corridor, transporting gas into underground storage facilities in Ukraine," Junghietu said.
He said that Moldova had suffered a series of energy crises since 2021.
"These crises tested our sustainability and our energy infrastructure. But instead of letting those problems get the better of us, we turned them into opportunities - to reinforce energy security and to diversify our energy sources," he said.
