Gazprom dealt fresh blow as Moldova ditches Russian gas entirely
Dorin Recean, Prime Minister of Moldova (Photo:Vladislav Culiomza / Reuters)
Moldova no longer depends on Russian gas supplies, according to the country's Prime Minister Dorin Recean, news agency Interfax-Ukraine reported on May 18.
"Moldova is no longer dependent on Russian gas, as it has been able to reject its consumption through connection to the European grid," Recean said at the opening of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum in Bucharest.
“If a year ago, 100% of the energy resources consumed by Moldova came from Russia, now the republic can cope without Russian gas or electricity supplies. Moldova no longer consumes Russian gas. It is integrated into the European energy network, both technically and commercially.”
For his part, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă announced that a feasibility study for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas via the Kulevi-Constanta route had been ordered.
The project envisages the opening of a gas liquefaction station in Kulevi and a liquefaction station in Constanta, and the injection of gas into pipe-lines from where it can be transported in any direction.
"This is an additional option for gas supply to Europe," Ciucă said.
“If it proves to be viable, it will help to re-profile Romania as a gas hub for neighboring countries, Moldova in particular.”
As reported, Moldovagaz and Gazprom signed a five-year gas supply contract, which entered into force on Nov. 1, 2021. Since Oct. 1, 2022, Gazprom had reduced the daily supply to Moldova by 30% to 5.7 million cubic meters. The Russian monopolist explained this by technical problems related to the restriction of gas transit through Ukraine. Since then, Gazprom had been supplying Moldova with this amount of gas, which was less than 40% of the republic's needs.
Moldova used Russian gas until Dec. 3, 2022, and since Dec. 4, it has been transporting all of Gazprom's gas to Transnistria, which in turn covers more than 80% of the country's electricity needs. The contract with the Moldovan State Thermoelectric Plant in Transnistria was signed on April 1, 2023 for six months.
Transnistria has not been paying for gas for many years, and the region's debt reaches several billion dollars.
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