Official's misconstrued remarks raise anxiety around gas supplies to Moldova
CHISINAU. Oct 2 (Interfax) - A misinterpretation of the words said by a Moldovan official has raised worries around natural gas supplies to Moldova.
Speaking at a Euro-Atlantic Resilience Forum in Bucharest last week, Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said that his country's dependence on Russian gas decreased thanks to Chisinau's Euro-Atlantic partners.
"Since December 2022, we no longer buy natural gas from Gazprom [MOEX: GAZP] for the territory controlled by the constitutional authorities [the right bank of the Dniester] because the Republic of Moldova also has a piece of territory that we do not control, the separatist region [Transdniestria]. Not only were we able to purchase gas from other sources, we bought up the whole gas entirely on the European market, we did so at a lower price than the formula we set out in our contract with Gazprom," Parlicov said.
However, the way the media interpreted this - that Moldovagaz has refused Russian gas altogether - was down to an incorrect interpretation of Parlicov's remarks at the forum.
For its part, Gazprom said that Moldovagaz, which has been sending all gas it receives from the Russian gas giant to Transdniestria since December 2022, regularly sends it gas delivery requests, which are met by the Russian side.
"Gazprom receives daily gas requests from the Moldovagaz company and honors them," the company said. The gas is transited by Ukraine via the Sudzha gas-measuring station.
All of it is then sent to the Moldovan GRES power station in Transdniestria, which generates electricity both for it and Moldova.
Before 2021, Gazprom was Moldova's sole gas supplier. Now, shipments to the right bank of the Dniester (Moldova) are provided by the Energocom state company, which buys gas on the market. The company uses Romania's trading platform and direct contracts with companies in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.
Moldova's gas consumption (excluding Transdniestria) is about 1.3 billion cubic meters per year.
Journalists asked Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov to comment on the news citing Parlicov.
"If I understand this correctly, contacts between Gazprom and Moldova continue, especially as the Moldovan side has debts and there are disputes over the size of those debts. This dialogue must continue," Peskov told reporters.
"Of course, it's necessary to look into the details. Most importantly, any debts between the Moldovan side and Gazprom must be settled," he said.
"The spot market is highly fluent. Yes, it's possible to buy gas on the European spot market now, and ultimately, this gas is likely to have Russian origins. We do not rule out that this is what Moldova has done," Peskov said.
Reporters also asked Peskov how gas would be supplied to Transdniestria if Moldova and Gazprom break off relations.
"This question should be directed to the company. It is very important to continue these deliveries and to supply energy to this region. I recommend that you ask Gazprom," Peskov said.