Moldovan authorities intend to maintain working relations with Gazprom, but they do not see any sense in buying gas from the Russian gas concern.
This was stated by the Energy Minister Victor Parlicov. According to him, the fundamental factors mean that natural gas prices are likely to be low before winter, so Moldova buys gas in advance. "We see some risks related to price hikes in winter, so we keep working relations with Gazprom," the Energy Minister said. At the same time, he noted that the country's authorities have the task to prepare, including explaining to citizens, for a situation when prices from Gazprom under the contract formula will be lower, and the authorities will have to think whether they will buy gas from it or on the market. Now, according to the Minister of Energy, Moldova does not see the point in buying gas from the Russian company. "Even if Gazprom's prices are lower, it is quite possible that the volumes it will supply will not be enough," he explained. According to Victor Parlicov, both Moldova and Gazprom do not fully fulfill their obligations under the contract. Thus, Chisinau blames Gazprom for the decrease of supply volume, but herewith, Moldovan authorities did not present the results of promised audit of Moldovagaz historical debt within the contractual timeframe. Earlier Sergey Kupriyanov, an official representative of Gazprom, said that presently Moldovagaz's debt to Gazprom is $433 million, and taking into account overdue payments, the total debt reaches $709 million. The Auditing Chamber of Moldova claims that Moldovagaz's debt to Gazprom is $590.8 million. The biggest shareholders of Moldovagaz are Gazprom (50% of shares), Moldovan Government (35.33%) and Transnistrian Administration (13.44%) which entrusted its shares to the Russian gas holding. //23.06.2023 - InfoMarket.
