Moldovagaz continues gas deliveries to Transnistrian region through Romanian exchange
Gas deliveries to the Transnistrian region continue, but instead of being supplied by the Hungarian company MET, as initially planned, Moldovagaz is now purchasing them from the Romanian Commodities Exchange.
According to the company, on February 12, Moldovagaz acquired approximately 2.7 million cubic meters of natural gas, scheduled for delivery on February 13 to consumers on the left bank of the Dniester.
For the second day in a row, Moldovagaz is purchasing natural gas from the Romanian Commodities Exchange and delivering it to the left bank of the Dniester. The company clarified that the gas is being purchased using financial resources from Tiraspoltransgaz.
What was expected to happen on February 13?
Previously, the Hungarian company MET Group confirmed its readiness to supply natural gas to the Republic of Moldova. However, these deliveries could only proceed if Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System Operator permitted transit. The latter confirmed to Teleradio-Moldova that negotiations with MET were underway.
Ukraine negotiates with MET on gas transit to Transnistria
After the Tiraspol administration rejected a €60 million European aid package, the Government of the Republic of Moldova granted an exemption from existing legislation, enabling gas deliveries to the Transnistrian region via a European trader. According to a decision by the Commission for Exceptional Situations (CSE), starting February 13, Tiraspol was set to receive three million cubic meters of gas daily, with any additional volume subject to taxation by the authorities in Chișinău.
The deliveries were to be handled by MET Gas and Energy Marketing AG, an active trader on the European gas market, and paid for by JNX General Trading L.L.C., a company based in Dubai. The gas was to be brought to the Moldovan border and transported to the Transnistrian region under an agreement between Moldovagaz and Tiraspoltransgaz.
Context: The gas crisis in the Transnistrian region
The region’s energy crisis began on January 1, 2025, when Gazprom fully suspended natural gas deliveries to the Republic of Moldova, significantly impacting the left bank of the Dniester, where separatist authorities had previously received free gas from Russia.
On January 27, Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced that the European Union was providing Moldova with an emergency grant of €30 million for gas purchases. In response, the government approved a loan of three million cubic meters of gas to the Transnistrian region to maintain the necessary pipeline pressure until January 31.
From February 1 to February 10, the region received gas purchased through a European grant to meet local energy needs and support electricity production at the Cuciurgan Power Plant.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
