Moldova hopes for Romanian natural gas as of October

The minister of infrastructure and regional development of Moldova, Andrei Spânu, stated for TVR Moldova that, starting this October, the natural gas deliveries from Romania through the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline will be technically possible.

"We need to liberalize the gas market so that we do not talk about dependence or independence, but about where we can buy gas at the best price," he said, according to G4media.ro.

Minister Spânu added that only after the completion of the gas pipeline, the two parties would discuss the gas price.

At this moment, the main gas supplier in Moldova, Moldovagaz (which also owns the country's incumbent gas transport network), is negotiating with Gazprom a new contract as the existing one expires on October 1. Notably, Moldovagaz is controlled by Gazprom.

Romania's Transgaz has developed the infrastructure, including a pipeline on the Moldovan territory, to supply gas to industrial areas in the neighbouring country.

However, the statement of the Moldovan minister about the Romanian gas comes at a moment when Romania's imports of natural gas (from Russia) are increasing to account for 25% of total consumption.

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