Moldovan importers will not reduce the price of petroleum products despite it went down on international markets

The importers of petroleum products in Moldova do not intend to diminish prices even if the oil plunged below USD 52 a barrel on international markets Thursday to its lowest price since May 2005. Deputy chairman of the Oil Importers Union of Moldova, Victor Ghitu told Info-Prim Neo that a discussion in this respect took place at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce on Friday, January 12. The representatives of the oil importers from Moldova, including “Lukoil” and “Petrom” discussed the possibility of reducing the prices of gas in Moldova. According to the source, the importers decided only to make some reduction estimations in the near future depending on the forecasts from to the international market. Ghitu mentioned that the situation on the market is uncertain, in light of the instability on the oil market, but also because oil distilleries did not sign yet contracts for 2007 with crude oil producers. An obstacle for bringing cheap gas to Moldova is the difficulty of obtaining Romanian visas for truck drivers, because of the queues from the Consulate and the numerous papers requested from the Moldovan importers by the Romanian authorities. However, Victor Ghitu says that the price of a barrel could grow as fast as it went down. “Petrom” has already announced price cuts in Romania, selling one liter of gas by ROL 0.08 cheaper (about MDL 0.4). Other oil companies from Romania, such as “Rompetrol” and “Lukoil” intend to diminish the price too. The analysts forecast that OPEC could introduce again production cuts in order to reduce the price reduction tendency.