MOLDOVA-RUSSIA INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION DISCUSS NATURAL GAS SUPPLYING

Participants in the 15th session of the Moldova-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, held in Chisinau on Thursday, discussed the issues connected with the supplying of natural gas to Moldova.

According to the Moldovagaz company press service, new enterprise Chairman of the Board Vadim Ceban stood for continuation of dialog between the two countries on the platform of the intergovernmental commission, as well as at the level of administrative bodies of the central state administration and branch enterprises.

The press release says that the commission considered three important topics for the energy complex:

Extending the existing agreements on natural gas supplying and transit and/or signing of new contracts
Regulation of Moldovagaz arrears to the Gazprom
Implementation of Moldovan law provisions on natural gas, in particular, ensuring independence of the natural gas transportation operator;
“At present, it is advisable to extend the current agreements on gas supplying and transit, given the occurred circumstances and their expiry on December 31, 2019”, Ceban said.

According to him, a bilateral working group was formed, which will present the contract terms of natural gas supplying and transit.

“The question on Moldovagaz debt is a difficult element and it must be discussed at the next sittings. Currently, an agreement was achieved on creating acceptable mechanism of covering the debt accumulated by Moldovagaz to the Gazprom”, the message says.

Head of the Moldovagaz said that in the field of implementing the Law on natural gas there are certain difficulties for timely fulfillment of provisions, regulated by the activity of operators on natural gas transportation.

“This topic is under close supervision of Moldovagaz administrative bodies and shareholders, given the ensuring of provisions of the Law on natural gas by daughter enterprises, located in the Transnistrian region”, Ceban said.

The intergovernmental commission meeting is chaired by Moldovan Deputy Premier for Reintegration Vasile Sova and Russian Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev. The sitting is held in a closed regime. A press conference on the sitting results was planned for 13:00, but later is was cancelled.