Russia cuts off gas supplies to Transnistria
Russia's Gazprom has announced that from 1 January 2025, it will stop supplying gas to Moldova's Transnistria due to "failure to fulfil payment obligations". Source: European Pravda, citing report by Gazprom Details: Gazprom reported that on 28 December, it notified Moldovagaz of its intention to stop gas supplies.
Russia's Gazprom has announced that from 1 January 2025, it will stop supplying gas to Moldova's Transnistria due to "failure to fulfil payment obligations".
Source: European Pravda, citing report by Gazprom
Details: Gazprom reported that on 28 December, it notified Moldovagaz of its intention to stop gas supplies.
The Russian company also accused Moldovagaz of "regularly failing to fulfil its payment obligations under the current contract, which is a significant violation of its terms".
The press release states that on 1 January 2025 at 08:00 Moscow time, Gazprom will ‘limit’ gas supplies to Moldova to 0 cubic metres per day.
Quote: "The restriction will remain in effect until Gazprom notifies Moldovagaz otherwise. Gazprom reserves all its rights, including the right to unilaterally terminate the contract and the right to demand from Moldovagaz compensation for all losses and payment of fines for Moldovagaz's failure to fulfil and/or improper fulfilment of its obligations under the contract."
More details: Moldovagaz acting CEO Vadim Cheban said the company had "taken into account" Gazprom's decision, NewsMaker reports.
Vadim Cheban recalled that since December 2022, all gas supplied from Russia has been transferred to the Transnistrian region.
Quote Vadim Cheban: "At the same time, natural gas for consumers on the right bank of the Dniester was purchased on regional and European markets. It should be emphasised that Moldovagaz has contracted the necessary volumes of gas that will fully cover all the consumption of the Right Bank by the end of March 2025."
Reference: Moldova receives gas from Russia under a contract valid until October 2026. Since the autumn of 2022, Gazprom has limited gas supplies to 5.7 million cubic metres per day, significantly less than Moldova's winter consumption.
As a result, since the end of 2022, all Russian gas has been sent to Transnistria, where it is used to generate electricity at the Moldovan hydroelectric power plant. The rest is used for domestic needs.
It is worth noting that Ukraine does not want to renew the deal for the passage of Russian gas to European countries, which ends on 1 January, 2025. In this regard, Moldova has declared a 60-day energy-related emergency.
The Trans-Balkan gas pipeline through Türkiye provides an alternate way for Russia to supply gas to Moldova.
However, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean claims that Gazprom has cited "non-payments" by Russia-controlled Transnistria as the reason for the suspension of supply rather than transit issues, making it far more difficult to resume deliveries. Chișinău does not recognise Tiraspol's debt and has no plans to pay it off.
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