Russia Monitor is a review of the most important events related to Russian internal and external security, as well as its foreign policies.
Date: 30 June 2022 Author: Grzegorz Kuczyński
Moldova Pays More For Russian Gas
The price of Russian gas for Moldova increased by 11 percent, to $980 per thousand cubic meters in July, the head of state energy firm Moldovagaz Vadim Ceban said in a statement. Moldova has so far paid $880 per thousand cubic meters of gas.
Gazprom raised the prices for gas deliveries to Moldova after the two signed a new gas deal in October 2021. The authorities in Chisinau agreed on a market-dependent formula though Gazprom is probably the sole energy supplier in the country. The Russian giant distributes gas and operates the Moldovan gas pipeline network. Moldovagaz is a Russian-controlled energy firm. Russia has a 50 percent controlling stake in Moldova’s state gas company Moldovagaz. Moscow-loyal insurgents from Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria have a 13.44 percent stake while the Moldovan government has just 35.33 percent. Moldova consumes some 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas each year. Moldova relies entirely on Russian commodities for its gas needs. It has no storage facilities while Gazprom controls all Moldovan pipelines via Moldovagaz. There is a gas link running westwards to EU countries, but it is not operational yet. Moldova’s dependence on Russian gas looms on the country’s domestic affairs. The ongoing war next door has put the landlocked country in a somewhat neutral stance. Indeed, Moldova offered shelter to Ukrainian refugees but failed to take more steps. The government in Chisinau is trying not to tease Moscow––suffice it to look at its reaction to Transnistria provocations. Despite being neutral, Moldova is on a pro-European and pro-NATO path. There is now a pro-Western government in Moldova, but the pro-Russian opposition party, led by former president Igor Dodon, was pushed into the shadow. What might explain this fact is the Russian gas blackmail. As Moscow cuts off gas supplies to some EU countries, it could do the same to Moldova, too. Europe’s scramble to find alternatives to Russia’s natural gas could make it even harder for Moldova.
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