Moldova and Russia have agreed on gas. The price of fuel for the republic can jump at times
A protocol on the settlement of current gas issues was signed at the talks in St. Petersburg by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Moldovagaz CEO Andrei Spinu.
“The parties reached an agreement on the formula for calculating the price, conducting an audit of Moldovagaz’s debt and the need for further permits for making physical payments,” noted in the Moldovan institution of infrastructure and regional development.
They specified that the contract was “extended for five years according to the price formula proposed by the Moldovan side.” Gazprom clarified that supplies will begin on November 1 “on mutually beneficial terms.”
Source TASS reportedthat the new contract of Moldova with “Gazprom” ensures the payment of the republic’s historical debt for gas supplies in the past years. We are talking about the amount of $ 709 million.
The interlocutor of the agency also added that the price of gas for Moldova will be calculated at market value, in winter it will be tied to the market of diesel fuel and fuel oil. As a result, the price of Russian gas for the republic may rise to $ 500-600 per 1,000 cubic meters. That is, the indicator will be at least twice as large as compared to the old formula.
Moldova and Gazprom
On September 30, the term of the preferential contract between Moldovagaz and Gazprom expired. Gas cost the Moldovan side $ 200 per thousand cubic meters. From October 1, Chisinau began to buy blue fuel from Russia at a market price of $ 790 per thousand cubic meters, so as not to interrupt supplies. At the same time, Moldova expected to come to an agreement with Moscow on more attractive terms of the contract.
On October 21, the Moldovan delegate in Moscow was unable to agree on a new contract for the supply of Russian gas. Already on October 22, Moldova introduced a state of emergency in the country due to a gas shortage. It will be valid until November 20.
On October 23, the official representative of Gazprom, Sergei Kupriyanov, said that if Moldova does not recognize the debt in the amount of $ 709 million, then from December 1, 2021, Gazprom will stop gas supplies.
Against the backdrop of failed negotiations with Moscow, Moldova began looking for a replacement for Russian gas. On October 25, it became known that the Ukrainian “Naftogaz” signed a framework agreement with the Moldovan Energocom on the supply of 700 million cubic meters of gas if necessary. As an alternative source of gas, Chisinau purchased consignments of no more than 1.5 million cubic meters from Poland and the Netherlands.
Photo: gazprom.ru