Moldovan authorities pledge to supply gas to Transdniestria if Gazprom refuses to do so
CHISINAU. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Chisinau will supply gas to Transdniestria should Gazprom refuse to do so, Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said.
Gazprom more than halved gas supply to Moldova to 5.7 million cubic meters per day in October 2022, Parlicov said at a press conference on Wednesday addressing an international audit report on Moldova's debt to Gazprom. All gas delivered under the Gazprom-Moldovagaz contract goes to Transdniestria since December 2022, while the western bank of the Dniester receives gas from the Moldovan Energocom state company, which buys gas on the spot market. The company was paying less in summer, compared to the Gazprom gas price.
"Currently, all gas from Gazprom goes to the Transdniestrian region. The price is not particularly important [Gazprom sells gas for $568 per 1,000 cubic meters in September]. Believe me, it does not matter to Transdniestrian residents what price to not pay for gas," Parlicov said in response to a question about the gas price.
Moldova is able to supply gas from alternate sources to the eastern bank of the Dniester, he said. "Should Gazprom [...] stop supplying gas to Transdniestria, we will take this into account. Rest assured that we can supply gas from other sources to the Transdniestrian region," Parlicov said.
The minister noted the political motivation behind Gazprom's demand that Moldova repay the debt. "We saw that a year ago and two years ago. In particular, in connection with the historical debt. The debt claimed by Gazprom was formed very long ago. Yet Gazprom has never been so categorical in its demand of payment from Moldovagaz," Parlicov said, adding that Moldova was ready for talks with Gazprom to settle all problems.
Parlicov presented results of the audit of Moldova's historical debt to Gazprom at the press conference. The audit did not confirm the debt of $709 million. Given the audit results, Moldova recognizes the $8.6-million debt to Gazprom, he said.
Gazprom cut the daily gas supply to Moldova by 30% to 5.7 million cubic meters from October 1, 2022, while the daily demand stands at 8.06 million cubic meters. Gazprom explained the cuts with technical problems caused by limited gas transit via Ukraine. In the remaining months of 2022 and since the beginning of 2023, Gazprom has been supplying Moldova with the same amount of gas, 5.7 million cubic meters per day, which is less than 40% of the required seasonal amount.
Moldova had been using Gazprom gas until December 3, 2022, but started rerouting all of it to Transdniestria on December 4. In exchange, Transdniestria meets over 80% of Moldova's demand for electricity. The six-month agreement with the Moldovan GRES in Transdniestria was signed on April 1.
The western bank of the Dniester runs on gas from reserves and therefore does not pay Gazprom, in accordance with the contract. Transdniestria has not been paying for the gas for many years. Chisinau estimates the debt at $10 billion.