Moldovagaz paid Gazprom for the current gas supplies in December and the first 10 days of January, and it does not manage to raise about $25 million to pay by January 20 all 50% of the advance payment for January.
This was announced on Wednesday by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu at a joint briefing with Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita. He noted that the Moldovan government fulfilled all items of the protocol signed with Gazprom in St. Petersburg. “We ensured full payment for gas in the troubled months - October-November 2021 and began the procedure for an independent audit of Moldovagaz's debt. And the situation in which we are now is not the result of the inaction of the authorities, but the result of relations between Moldovagaz and Gazprom, Andrei Spinu stressed. He explained that, under the contract, Moldovagaz must fully pay the cost of gas consumed in December 2021 by January 20. At the same time, this obligation was fulfilled on January 14 and full settlements for December were made. At the same time, until January 20, Moldovagaz must make a 50% advance payment for the gas consumption in January (approximately $63 million). “Of this amount of $63 million, Moldovagaz managed to pay $38 million. The unpaid difference, projected for January 20, will be $25 million. The $38 million paid is a payment for gas consumption for the first 10 days of January. That is, the calculations were made for December and the first 10 days of January. We pay for the current gas supplies in a timely manner and only say that in a few days Moldovagaz will not manage to raise another $25 million. This difference was formed due to a significant increase in the purchase price for gas, and the current tariff for end consumers does not cover the new gas price for January, which is $646 per 1 thousand cubic meters. As a result, there was a difference of $25 million. In addition, Moldovagaz could not find a common language with its majority shareholder Gazprom in order to postpone the payment deadline or find credit funds to cover this difference,” Andrei Spinu said. He recalled that he discussed this situation with the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, and asked for a grace period of several weeks for payments. “We regret that the main shareholder of the company could not support his own company in a difficult situation. We clearly see a change in attitude compared to previous years. Now there is a real risk of cutting off gas supplies. But we will take emergency measures to ensure gas supplies to consumers,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. // 19.01.2022- InfoMarket.
