Economic

Gazprom delays threaten Transnistria's gas supply

The Russian company Gazprom is delaying the approval of the new members for the Board of Directors of Moldovagaz, hindering the process of gas acquisition for the Transnistrian region.

This statement was made by the Minister of Energy, Victor Parlicov, during an appearance on the television program ÎN CONTEXT on Moldova 1. The minister expressed his hope that this impasse will be resolved.

Parlicov stated that Moldovagaz is a key player in the gas supply contract for the Transnistrian region, as this contract, under which gas is supplied to the region, is between Moldovagaz and Gazprom. Moldovagaz plays an important role in maintaining stability in the Transnistrian region. The lack of a functioning Board of Directors is hindering this process.

"For now, the meeting of the Supervisory Board, where the Board of Directors was to be elected, has not taken place. I don't want to go into details, but Gazprom prefers to first assess all the members of the team, especially those they don't know. I believe there will be an opportunity to discuss this, and after that, I believe we will unblock the process. I believe we will find a solution," Parlicov stated.

The Board of Directors of SA "Moldovagaz" is the executive body, composed of nine members, five of whom are representatives of Gazprom.

On September 19th, following a competition organised by the Ministry of Energy, new members were put forward to the Supervisory Board of Moldovagaz for approval. Dorin Junghietu was proposed by the Ministry of Energy for the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Moldovagaz, and Vadim Ceban was proposed as Vice-Chairman. Eduard Calancea and Radu Mandraburca were proposed as members of the Board of Directors.

According to Sergiu Tofilat, a member of the Supervisory Board of Moldovagaz, the Supervisory Board meeting, where the new composition of the board, including the Chairman, was to be elected, took place on September 25th. "We sent the ballots, but we do not know how the Russian side voted. On September 30th, we requested the minutes of the meeting, which should have been provided within five days. We have not yet received a response. Therefore, the representatives of Gazprom have already violated the regulations of the Supervisory Board," Tofilat previously stated.

This situation is concerning given the expiration of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine on January 1st. If this transit is halted, the Transnistrian region will be without Russian gas, for which it currently does not pay. It will then be forced to purchase gas from another source. At the same time, the right bank of the Dniester River could lose access to the inexpensive electricity supplied by the Cuciurgan Power Plant, which is generated using Russian gas.

Moldovan authorities state they have approved a plan of action and maintain they will overcome potential problems with the supply of gas and electricity in 2025.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

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