Moldova "disowns" Gazprom; For one reason, Germany may still receive Russian gas

On October 2, Moldova's Energy Minister Viktor Parlikov announced that the country has no plans to buy gas from Russia's Gazprom group in the future.

Moldova 'từ mặt' Gazprom; vì lý do này, các kho cảng của Đức có thể vẫn nhận khí đốt Nga

Moldova announced that it will not buy gas from Gazprom. Illustrative photo. (Source: Anews)

"We do not buy natural gas from Gazprom for the territories controlled by constitutional bodies. Moldova has been buying fuel from the European market at a lower price," Parlikov said.

In late October 2021, the Moldovan government and Gazprom agreed to extend the contract for gas supplies to Moldova for another five years. During the negotiations, Gazprom offered Chisinau a 25% discount but demanded that Chisinau pay a $709 million fuel debt.

At that time, the official representative of Gazprom Sergey Kupriyanov announced that Moldova's debt was $433 million, but taking into account late payments the total amount reached $709 million.

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa said the country does not recognize this debt.

In early September, Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced the results of an audit of the country's debt to Gazprom and said the auditing firm could not identify the debt.

* Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) may still be arriving at German terminals, despite the giant's pledge, according to Uniper's chief executive Michael Lewis.

“Moscow continues to sell LNG to the world market. Traders, including Uniper, do not always know the origin of the gas purchased,” he said.

Uniper will stop buying Russian gas at the end of August 2022, after the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Russia over its special military campaign in Ukraine.

In February this year, Uniper announced a record loss of 19.1 billion euros ($20.3 billion) in 2022, citing a complete freeze in Russian gas supplies as the main cause of the loss.

Germany is better prepared for the coming winter than a year ago, with its gas storage facilities 95% full, according to CEO Lewis, but he also warned of potential risks.

“If it gets very cold or there are problems with LNG purchases, this winter will be very difficult,” said Uniper’s CEO. “Or if the Chinese economy grows and demand for LNG increases, Europe will face fuel shortages and soaring prices.”

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