Moldovan govt to give Moldovagaz loan to timely pay to Russia's Gazprom
CHISINAU. Oct 20 (Interfax) - The Moldovan government will provide a loan to the Moldovagaz company so that it can timely pay Russia's Gazprom for gas deliveries.
The Moldova government's Commission for Emergency Situations decided to extend the load on Wednesday evening, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu said on social media.
This decision is "aimed at ensuring energy security and continuing natural gas deliveries," Spinu said.
In line with the decision, Moldova's Energocom state-owned company will sign a loan agreement with Moldovagaz without prior approval by their boards and/or general meetings, after which Moldovagaz will receive a loan on the following terms: the loan will amount to 1.05 billion Moldovan lei, or approximately $54 million, will be provided on October 20, 2022, is due to be repaid by May 1, 2023, and will have an interest rate of 21.5%, which is equal to the National Bank of Moldova's rate. At the same time, the loan will be guaranteed by a full pledge in favor of Energocom of a 100% share of Moldovagaz in the authorized capital of Moldovatransgaz, together with the assets transferred to it by Moldovagaz for economic management in line with the pledge agreement that has legal force.
For his part, Moldovagaz CEO Vadim Ceban said on Telegram on Wednesday evening that the company will pay Gazprom on Thursday, October 20, and will not allow a cash flow gap to occur.
According to Ceban, it became possible thanks to the decision adopted by the Commission for Emergency Situations, which made a number of important decisions for Moldovagaz on Wednesday evening.
"In order to ensure the timely fulfillment of its current obligations on natural gas deliveries, Moldovagaz asked the Commission for Emergency Situations to reschedule the obligation to pay VAT in the amount of 392.2 million lei [$20 million] for a later date. The deadline for the payment obligations of Moldovagaz Group of Companies in the amount of over 120 million lei [around $6 million] was also postponed," Ceban said.
"The most important decision made by the Commission on Emergency Situations was the decision on the loan deal between Energocom and Moldovagaz," he said.
"Thanks to this money, which is 1.05 billion lei [$54 million], the Moldovagaz company will be able to fully repay its current debt to Gazprom, thus avoiding a cash flow gap," Ceban said.
In September, Moldovagaz purchased 48.05 million cubic meters of natural gas (27.4 million cubic meters for delivery to consumers and 20 million cubic meters for delivery to Energocom) at $1,882 per 1,000 cubic meters, Ceban said. Based on this information, Moldovagaz paid a total of $90.46 million, or around 1.764 billion lei, for the gas bought in September.
The Moldovan government earlier extended assistance to Moldovagaz via the Energocom company. The government has to do so in order to help Moldovagaz pay Russia's Gazprom for gas supplies.
The gas contract's terms and conditions stipulate that Moldovagaz must remit full payment by the 20th of each month for natural gas consumed during the previous month, and 50% of the payment for contracted gas for the current month. In September, Moldovagaz transferred an advance payment on the last day of the month. Gazprom said in early October that it could fully stop gas shipments to Moldova unless all contractual obligations were met.