Moldova is hoping to sign a new long-term gas supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) on the same terms as the old one, Deputy Moldovan Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu said.
Spinu said at a briefing on Monday that during his visit to St. Petersburg on October 7-8 he had held meetings with Elena Burmostrova, a Gazprom deputy CEO and the head of Gazprom Export. He said he regretted he did not meet with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller but hoped to so before the end of October.
“I’ll also say that the formula used to calculate the purchase price of gas [$790 per thousand cubic meters] in October is not justified and is not realistic for Moldova. It is not in keeping with the contracts that Moldovagaz and Gazprom signed in the past. In connection with this we have proposed that the contract be extended on the old terms that were used last year and this year,” Spinu said.
He said the government would officially ask for the contract between Moldovagaz and Gazprom to be extended by one year but that the Moldovan authorities wanted to sign a new long-term contract.
“A technical group of representatives from the ministry, Moldovagaz and Gazprom will start to address this as early as this week. The task is to coordinate a working plan for the subsequent signing of a long-term gas supply contract. Issues to do with implementing the Third Energy Package as well as the situation with servicing Moldova’s debt to Gazprom have been discussed with a Gazprom representative,” Spinu said.
He also said the government was drafting “measures of social support in the event tariffs rise.”
Moldova and Gazprom have yet to agree on the latest extension of the gas contract, which expired on September 30. In this situation, the parties decided to temporarily prolong the contract under the former terms for one month. At the same time, Moldova will receive gas for $790 per thousand cubic meters in October, while in September the price was $550 per thousand cubic meters.
