The extension of the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline to Chisinau, where 50-60% of the gas imported into Moldova is consumed, will represent a decisive step towards ensuring the country’s energy independence and substantially diminishing the dependence on Gazprom and the Russian Federation. The extension project is yet threatened by the political instability, the slow pace of reforms in the energy sector and the debts to the Russian supplier. The conclusions are contained in a study carried out by the independent think tank “Expert-Grup” and “Expert-Forum” of Romania with financial support from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bucharest, IPN reports.
According to the authors of the study, the Moldovan authorities’ interest in diversifying the natural gas supply sources increased in 2010-2013 after Moldova joined the European Energy Community. Namely this favored the opening of the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline in August 2014, as a result of an investment of €26.5 million, where about 80% of the costs were covered by the Romanian side and the EU. Though the real transportation capacity of the gas pipeline is 1.5 billion cubic meters a year, which is enough for satisfying the consumption needs of Moldova, the volume exported from Romania through this pipe in 2015 represented only 1 million cubic meters or about 1% of the total consumption in Moldova, without the eastern districts of the country.
The authors say the extension is especially needed given the country’s dependence on Gazprom at a time when Moldova’s debts for the consumed Russian gas amount to 65% of the country’s GDP, while the Russian giant demands that the European legislation in the energy sector, which would facilitate the opening of the market to other suppliers, should not be implemented.
In this connection, the quantity of gas could be raised and, respectively, the economic sustainability of this pipe could be ensured only by extending the pipeline to Chisinau, where most of the gas imported into Moldova is being consumed. For extension, the EU could allocate €10 million, while the other €80 million would be covered with loans from European financial institutions, such as the EBRD and EIB.
For the extension to become a reality, the authors of the study suggest taking a number of actions, including to implement the Energy Package III, to ensure the independence of the National Agency for Energy Regulation, to stimulate internal demand by diversifying the gas supply, transportation and distribution systems, to clear the historical debts of MoldovaGaz and to minimize the impact of the political instability on the project to extend the pipeline.
