Moldova is forming strategic gas reserves, buying gas from various suppliers, including at prices more favorable than those of Gazprom.
Energy Minister, Viktor Parlivov, stated this while speaking at the 10th session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly held in Chisinau. Together with officials and experts from the Eastern Partnership countries and members of the European Parliament, he discussed at the forum the challenges in the energy sector due to the war in Ukraine, as well as the response measures to be taken by governments. Within the panel "EU Common Natural Gas Procurement Mechanism and Eastern Partnership", the parties talked about the rapid mobilization of energy markets in Moldova in response to the crisis that began even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Victor Parlicov noted that Moldova, which was totally dependent on Gazprom, was able to form strategic gas reserves and to buy gas from many sources, including at more favorable prices than those offered by the Russian company. According to him, Energocom has become the first supplier using for commercial purposes not only the Ungheni-Iasi interconnector, but also the reverse mode at the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline and even the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector. "Moldova is part of two regions of gas demand aggregation from the common mechanism: the region of South-Eastern Europe and the region of Central and Eastern Europe, and it proposes to use this platform not only as a commercial mechanism, but also as an instrument of solidarity, to support the most vulnerable countries of the region", said the Energy Minister. He stressed that ensuring Moldova's energy security is a priority for the new government. "The Ministry of Energy has the task to strengthen the mechanisms of access to safe, sustainable energy at competitive prices, to ensure an accelerated decarbonization of the economy and to increase the possibilities of integrating renewable energy sources into the grid," Victor Parlicov said. // 21.02.2023 - InfoMarket
