If Russia stops delivering gas, Moldova could be able to receive a six months' supply from Ukrainian inventories, Moldovan Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Natalia German said.
“There is the ability to supply gas to Moldova out of Ukraine’s
internal reserves, for at least half a year in the event of
force-majeure circumstances,” German, who is also a deputy prime
minister, said in an interview with the Romanian media.
An even more important project is receiving gas from Romania, which
will become possible when the Ungheni-Iasi gas pipeline begins operating
on August 27.
“The first line of the pipeline, which will link Moldova to the EU
energy market, will start up at the end of August. With help from our
Romanian colleagues and the support of the EU, we will extend the
pipeline project, all the way to the Moldovan capital, with the
potential rehabilitation of the republic’s entire energy system,” she
said.
Construction of Ungheni-Iasi is contained in the 2010 Moldova-Romania
protocol of cooperation. Its goal is to provide an alternative source
of gas supplies. The project covers construction of a 31-km pipeline in
Romania and 9-km segment in Moldova. The project will cost 20 million
euro, a portion of which was provided from EU funds.
Moldova designated the project a national priority in July 2012 and
it was scheduled to be commissioned before the end of 2013. But
construction work did not begin until August 27, 2013, instead of in May
as originally scheduled. The pipeline was to have entered operation
before the end of March 2014, but that date was subsequently postponed
to June and now to August 27.
Many experts consider the gas pipeline project to be stillborn, since
there is no source for supplying it: Moldova gets 100 percent of the gas it
consumes from Russian Gazprom and Romania – 25 percent.
