Gazprom, as the majority shareholder of Moldovagaz, must offer a solution to overcome the current situation with the company's lack of funds to make advance payments for gas - Andrei Spinu.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Andrei Spinu, stated this while speaking on the air of one of the TV channels. He confirmed that Moldovagaz has problems with paying Gazprom the 50% advance payment for January, as the company, according to various estimates, will lack $25-32 million out of the amount of about $63-65 million, which must be made up to 20 January. The cash gap in Moldovagaz arose against the backdrop of an increase in the purchase price of gas in January by about $200 - up to $646 per 1,000 cubic meters, despite the fact that the current tariffs for end consumers remained unchanged and do not cover the increased gas price. Andrei Spinu noted that he had discussed the current situation with Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom, the day before. In addition, the same problem was considered during the meeting of the Moldovagaz Supervisory Board held on January 17. The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development said that the Moldovan side shared its vision of solving problems and hopes that Gazprom, as the majority shareholder of Moldovagaz, will offer its solutions to overcome the current situation, help its company to supply gas for Moldovan citizens, including under the contract signed between Gazprom and Moldovagaz. “We agreed that we will discuss more in the coming days, we will see how much Moldovagaz can still pay, but our position is this - this is a specific situation that has arisen at the moment due to abnormal gas prices on the market. No matter how often we change the tariff for consumers, we will not be able to react as quickly as the market. We have not had chronic non-payments before. It would be right if Gazprom, as the majority shareholder of Moldovagaz, proposed solutions. In particular, we propose to extend the period for paying the difference by another 30 days. Otherwise, we will see a change in attitude on the part of Gazprom, because there have been similar situations in the past, but the company was not asked then to pay in advance. We want to be trusted partners. We will pay for gas, but there is an anomaly in the market. We have a joint company, and it would be fair if Gazprom, as the majority shareholder of Moldovagaz, offered solutions to get out of this situation. I hope that Gazprom will come up with a solution and allow postponing the advance payment or extending the deadline for paying for the gas consumed in January until the end of February,” Andrej Spinu said. He stressed that there is no final solution, and the Moldovan side is waiting for Gazprom's response, hoping that an acceptable solution will be found. The Vice Premier also noted that when gas prices start to fall on the market, Moldovagaz will be able to pay the necessary amounts. // 18.01.2022- InfoMarket.
