Moldovan government considers that Moldovagaz does not need to buy gas from Gazprom and should buy gas from Energocom.
Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov stated this at a press conference on Tuesday, noting that Moldovagaz's decision to buy some gas from Gazprom for consumers on the right bank of Nistru was not coordinated with the Ministry of Energy. Victor Parlicov reminded that Moldova's right bank did not buy gas from Gazprom during the entire winter, and the gas supplied by Gazprom was directed to the Transnistrian region. On March 20, it became known that for several days Moldovagaz had been buying gas from Gazprom, which the Transnistrian region would not use. Victor Parlicov noted that this decision was not coordinated with the Ministry of Energy. He noted that companies have to make decisions related to the functioning of the market, but the Energy Ministry urged Moldovagaz to inform publicly about its decision and explain the reasons for it. The head of the Energy Ministry said that, at present, there is no need to buy gas from Gazprom for the right bank of the Nistru River, because there are gas stocks created specifically for security purposes through Energocom, and of course, gas must be bought from Energocom. Viktor Parlicov explained that so far, only 2 million cubic meters of gas have been purchased from Gazprom in recent days. The purchases have been made for four days. "Only in the last days we took gas from Gazprom for the right bank. Moldovagaz will decide on further actions, but our position is that we have to take gas from Energocom for the common benefit," said Victor Parlicov. He noted that the price of gas from Moldovagaz and Energocom is practically the same - about $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters. The purchase of gas from Energocom will allow the company to use the previously formed gas stock more quickly and use the proceeds to purchase new volumes of gas at lower prices and use the current favorable market conditions. "The more Moldovagaz will buy gas from Energocom, the sooner it will be able to take advantage of the favorable prices," the head of the Energy Ministry said. In his opinion, if Transnistria does not need all the gas supplied by Gazprom, Moldovagaz should ask the Russian company to cut the volumes of gas supplies. "It is necessary that gas is supplied within the limits of the volumes necessary for Transnistria. There are certain limits in the contract, mechanisms and procedures are stipulated, and the parties can agree on new supply volumes," Victor Parlicov said. In his opinion, the risk that Gazprom will stop supplying the gas needed by Transnistria is unlikely. The head of the Energy Ministry said that Chisinau does not reject the possibility of buying gas from Gazprom, but will be ready to buy it from the Russian company when it offers acceptable prices. He also acknowledged that the price of gas purchased earlier and kept in the gas storages is double the current price. // 21.03.2023 – InfoMarket
