July 30 (SeeNews) - Moldova hopes to receive a discount of up to 30% on the imports of natural gas from Russia, president Igor Dodon said.
"Moldova needs a 25-30% discount on current gas supplies, otherwise we will have to raise tariffs," Dodon said in a video file posted last week on the YouTube channel of broadcaster RTR Moldova.
Earlier this month, Dodon said the price that Moldova pays for gas imports from Russia under its oil price-indexed contract rose by some 25% in the first quarter of 2019. The country paid some $237.46 (213.1 euro) per 1,000 cubic metres in the first quarter.
The country will face difficulties with gas supplies if Russia suspends natural gas exports to Southeast Europe through the Trans-Balkan Corridor crossing Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria in 2020, Dodon also said.
"If there is transit, then we need to agree on the price of gas for next year and negotiate transit conditions. If there is no transit, then it will be difficult for us to count on reverse flow since this is a technically difficult process," Dodon noted.
The management of the country's gas utility Moldovagaz is considering options to cope with the potential termination of transit through the Trans-Balkan Corridor, he added.
In a Facebook post on Friday, the CEO of Ukraine's Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolyev, said the company is in talks with the Moldovan government to replace gas imports from Russia with imports from the EU through Ukraine. "The use of Ukrainian deposits guarantees the economic security of our neighbour and will protect them from the unpredictable and politically motivated behaviour of Gazprom. For Ukraine it is also an interesting prospect. Cooperation with Moldova will allow us to further fill our gas storage facilities and capacities," Kobolyev said.
Moldova was the largest importer of natural gas from Gazprom among southeastern Europe (SEE) countries in the first quarter of 2019, with imports of 969 million cubic metres, down 9.3%, figures from Gazprom's interim activity report show.
($ = 0.8973 euro)