Latest news with #Transdniestria
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russia's Gazprom denounces Moldova move to alter gas supply system
Aug 7 (Reuters) - Russian gas giant Gazprom ( opens new tab on Thursday denounced a move by Moldova's gas authority to withdraw the licence from its local subsidiary for distributing gas, saying the move damaged its affiliate and jeopardised Moldova's energy security. Moldova's gas regulator, the National Agency for Energy Regulation, this week said the licence to distribute gas had been withdrawn from Moldovagaz, 50% of whose shares belong to Gazprom, and turned over to the state-run Energocom company. Distribution of gas to 800,000 consumers, it said, would be taken over by Energocom from September 1. The dispute centres on what Gazprom describes as Moldova's failure to pay at least $709 million in arrears for gas supplies, mainly from state-run industries. Moldova, citing audits, says it owes no such debts, which were the focal point of a halt of gas supplies in January. The cutoff, which coincided with an end to gas transit through Ukraine, halted gas supplies for weeks to homes and industry in Transdniestria, a pro-Russian separatist region on Moldova's border with Ukraine. Gazprom, in its latest statement, said Moldova had failed to resolve the debt issue, adding the gas concern had issued proposals to find a solution to the arrears. "The Moldovan government has introduced a series of measures leading to, in the final analysis, the forced reorganisation of Moldovagaz ... a sharp rise in gas prices and, as a consequence, a decline in the country's energy security," Gazprom said. Gazprom said it would continue "to defend its lawful rights and interests with all available means." Moldova has long been in dispute with Gazprom over prices and what the Russian gas giant describes as arrears. It has actively sought to reduce reliance on Russian supplies and clinched agreements to purchase gas from suppliers in Europe. It said its decision was taken as Gazprom was demanding payment of arrears it did not recognise and was failing to implement changes demanded by the European Union on separating responsibility for transporting and supplying gas. Moldova's pro-European government is seeking EU membership by 2030. Moldovagaz Chairman Vadim Ceban said this week the issues were "political" in nature and therefore out of the company's control.
Reuters
18-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Separatist Moldovan region facing crisis without Russian gas, minister says
CHISINAU, June 18 (Reuters) - Moldova's pro-Russian separatist Transdniestria region faces a dire economic crisis triggered by this year's halting of gas supplies from Russia and a collapse in industrial and farm production, a senior minister in the enclave said on Wednesday. Moldova's pro-European President Maia Sandu has warned that Russia could use instability in Transdniestria to sow chaos and influence a September election to secure a parliament and government more favourable to Moscow. Sandu is seeking European Union membership by 2030. "Forecasts for Transdniestria's economy are not encouraging, based on uncertainty over gas supplies, a lack of a contract on power exports from the thermal plant and the fact that major industrial plants are idle," Economic Development Minister Sergei Obolonik told a government session on Wednesday. "There remains a risk that Moldova could introduce new sanctions and restrictive regulations," he said, according to local media. Transdniestria broke from Soviet Moldova in 1990. Other than a brief 1992 conflict, it has lived alongside the rest of the now-independent state with little upheaval for more than 30 years thanks largely to assistance provided by Moscow. But Russia halted supplies of virtually free gas in January after Ukraine shut a transit pipeline. Separatist authorities secured alternative gas through a Hungarian supplier with Russian funding, but that supply has proved insufficient to keep the economy afloat. Obolonik forecast a 12% drop in gross domestic product in the second half of the year from a year ago, a 30% plunge in industrial output, a 6% slide in agricultural production, a 20% slide in foreign trade and inflation of 16%. Improvement next year, he said, depended on finding reliable gas sources and on Moldova introducing no punitive measures. "We can expect no real growth in the economy," Obolonik said. "The best scenario is for indicators to remain at this year's levels."
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Romania's OMV Petrom signs deal covering quarter of Moldova's gas demand
May 7 (Reuters) - Moldova has secured a quarter of its annual gas supply needs in a deal with the Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom ( opens new tab, a top Moldovan energy official said on Wednesday, with first deliveries expected in 2027. The agreement is crucial for Moldova, which has been dependent on Russian gas for decades but has moved to diversify supply following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. Romania's energy ministry announced the three-year supply deal from its pending Black Sea project Neptun Deep, one of the European Union's most significant gas deposits with an estimated 100 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas. Jointly owned by OMV Petrom and the Romanian state-owned gas producer Romgaz ( opens new tab, the project is on track to deliver its first gas in 2027. "In a situation where Moldova's relations with Russia's Gazprom ( opens new tab have broken down, obtaining gas directly from Neptun Deep increases the reliability of Moldova's natural gas supply," Vadim Ceban, CEO of Moldovan national gas company Moldovagaz, told Reuters. He added that the deal will account for 25% of Moldova's total demand for gas, which is estimated at 3.2 billion cubic metres a year. Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region Transdniestria used Russian gas even after the Ukraine invasion, but plunged into an energy crisis earlier this year after Gazprom stopped deliveries. Romania's energy ministry said the contract with Moldova's Energocom amounted to less than 1% of Neptun Deep's estimated reserves. Neptun Deep is Romania's biggest energy project in almost two decades. It will double Romania's gas production and likely turn it into a net exporter, at a time when the EU is weaning itself off Russian gas. OMV Petrom, which is majority controlled by Austria's OMV ( opens new tab, will also supply Germany's Uniper with 15 terawatt hours of gas from Neptun Deep under a five-year deal. The company and Romgaz plan to sell the gas separately, but under Romanian law the government will have a pre-emptive first right to gas from the project under certain conditions.
