Prime Minister Dorin Recean confirmed the interest of Hungarian companies in participating in potential natural gas purchases for the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. According to the Prime Minister, other contracts were previously presented and rejected by the government for specific reasons, reports IPN.
"At the moment, we know that the Hungarian company MOL has approached Moldovagaz to undergo the client introduction procedure. This is a standard procedure in the energy community. Additionally, today a sample contract was presented. No further details are known to us at this stage," noted the Prime Minister.
Dorin Recean added that the government is not conducting negotiations nor acting as an intermediary in any deals, but is only verifying their legality.
"The government and state institutions are obliged to check the legality and compliance with national and international laws of the presented contracts. Some contracts were previously presented, which the government did not approve as they did not meet national and international legal standards," added Dorin Recean.
Chisinau has decided to provide natural gas to the Transnistrian region on credit. Dorin Recean clarified that today, the approval of providing three million cubic meters of gas to maintain pressure in the system is expected. According to the Prime Minister, this decision was coordinated with the European Commission, and its goal is to immediately end the humanitarian crisis on the left bank of the Dniester.
Russian gas supply to Transnistria ceased on January 1, 2025, after Ukraine stopped transporting Russian gas through its own gas transportation system. In this context, Gazprom reduced gas supply through Moldova to zero cubic meters per day, citing Moldova's historical gas debt.
Moldovan authorities do not recognize the existence of a $709 million debt to Gazprom, but the management of Moldovagaz confirms that the debt exists. The gas supply contract between Gazprom and its subsidiary Moldovagaz is valid until October 2026. There is a technical possibility of supplying gas to Transnistria through Moldova via the Trans-Balkan gas corridor.
Since December 10 of last year, an economic state of emergency has been in effect in Transnistria, and since December 16, in right-bank Moldova.
The head of Transnistria was in Moscow from January 10-14, where he discussed with Russia's Ministry of Energy the possibilities of restoring gas supplies to the region in the near future as "humanitarian aid."
