Gas needed for consumers on right bank of Dniester must be purchased from Energocom, Energy Minister says

Chisinau, March 21. /MOLDPRES/- Gas needed for consumers on the right bank of the Dniester must be purchased from Energocom. The statement was made today by Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov, after yesterday Moldovagaz announced that by late March part of the gas procured from Gazprom will remain on the right bank of the Dniester.

Victor Parlicov said that the respective decision was taken by Moldovagaz, without being coordinated with the Ministry of Energy. According to the official, throughout the cold season, the right bank of the Dniester did not consume gas delivered by Gazprom, it being fully directed to Tiraspoltransgaz. In the last few days, however, around 2 million cubic meters of gas were purchased from Gazprom for the needs of the right bank, the decision being argued by Moldovagaz by the fact that "in the context of warming weather, the consumption of natural gas on the left bank of the Dniester has significantly decreased" .

"For the right bank, we do not need to purchase gas from Gazprom. We have gas that has been procured and there are stocks created specifically for security through Energocom. Our position is that we have to buy this gas from Energocom for several reasons, including because those stocks formed by Energocom have value, this gas will have to be consumed and as long as this gas is spent, consumers pay this money, and that it gives Energocom the necessary resources to procure gas now and benefit from the current price situation on the market," Parlicov said.

The minister said that the prices of gas procured from Gazprom and the weighted average cost of gas supplied by Energocom "are practically equivalent". "We do not completely exclude the procurement of gas from Gazprom for the right bank, but for that we must have a more favorable price situation", he said.

In March, the gas price purchased from Gazprom is 1011.73 dollars per thousand cubic meters, while today on the European stock market it has reached 429 dollars per thousand cubic meters.