The price of Russian gas for the Republic of Moldova based on the new contract with Gazprom can rise to US$500-600 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. The information was offered to TASS by a source close to the talks. The new contract envisions also the payment of the debt of over US$700 million for the gas supplied to Moldova the previous years, IPN reports.
The quoted source said that in 2021, the price of gas for the warm period is calculated based on the market price, when demand declines together with the cost of gas. During the cold period of the year, the price is related to the situation on the fuel oil market, which enabled the country to significantly economize. Earlier, the scheme was applied to the whole quantity of gas, but now Moldova in the first and fourth quarters will buy 70% of the gas at the price calculated based on the price of oil, while the rest – at the market prices. In the second and third quarters, the price for 30% of the gas will be related to the price of oil, while the rest to the market prices.
As the official representative of Gazprom Sergey Kupriyanov reported earlier, Moldova’s debt is US$433 million, but totals US$709 million together with delay penalties.
In the evening of October 29, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development posted on Facebook that the negotiations between the Moldovan delegation and Gazrom ended. The parties reached an agreement in principle on the price formula, on an audit to be conducted in order to estimate the debt owed by Moldovagaz to Gazprom and on the need for further negotiations to establish a repayment schedule. The previous contract between Moldova-Gaz and Gazprom will be extended by five years using a price formula proposed by the Moldovan party, with supplies to start under the new contract on November 1. In October Moldova received gas under a one-month extension of the contract with Gazprom, albeit in lower than expected amounts. The difference was purchased during this period on the spot market, through the state company Energocom, at market prices.
