Moldovagaz remits one third of January advance payment for gas to Gazprom - CEO

MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) - JSC Moldovagaz has remitted one third of the advance payment for gas to Gazprom for January, Moldovagaz CEO Vadim Cheban told journalists on Tuesday.

"According to the agreement, we must pay Gazprom an advance by the 20th for the current month. This means that we must pay $63 million by January 20. We have paid $23 million, and we plan to pay another $15 million by Thursday. I believe that we will still owe around $25 million. We shall see how the situation develops in the next few years; however, judging by the situation that has developed at the moment, I think that we will not be able to pay in full by January 20," Cheban said.

Cheban noted that the situation is currently under discussion at the government level, and that the matter was discussed in detail the previous day by Moldovagaz's supervisory board during a meeting with Gazprom representatives participating.

"We have tried to secure a loan from a bank, though all of the banks have refused to provide loans because of other debts. We have requested that Gazprom defer the payment of $25 million that will reduce by the end of the month, because we intend to remit payment every day. We will pay, though a bit later, especially since consumers do not pay us in advance, and we are waiting for gas tariffs to be adjusted," Cheban said.

Cheban stressed that both the government and Moldovagaz are doing everything to resolve the matter.

"We have made our proposals in order to exit the current crisis quickly and without any consequences. For example, for thermal power plants, which are the main consumers of gas, to take out loans from international financial organizations in order to pay Moldovagaz for current gas consumption. The government has also promised to grant us a deferment on paying VAT," Cheban said.