The Prime Minister of Moldova, Dorin Rechan, instructed to prepare a legislative framework for the nationalization of the assets of the "Moldovagaz" company, the control package of which belongs to "Gazprom" CJSC.
The head of the Cabinet of Ministers expressed his indignation regarding the decision of the "Gazprom" company to stop the supply of gas to the Transnistrian region from January 1, 2025.
"This decision was taken contrary to the contract signed between "Moldovagaz" and "Gazprom" under the pretext of a historical debt of more than 700 million dollars. The international audit showed that there is no debt. Perhaps this money was spent on travel and yachts, but it is unacceptable to shift this debt onto the shoulders of Moldovan citizens. We will deal with this situation, as we used to deal with Russia's energy blackmail," said Rechan.
In this context, he instructed the Minister of Justice, Veronika Mihailov-Morar, to prepare changes in the national legislation, so that the nationalization of enterprises is carried out.
"Ms. Mikhailov-Moraru, please prepare the necessary changes to the legislation so that nationalization is possible. We must act in strategic areas. By the way, these objects were also forcibly taken from us at one time. And we must return them to the state property," Rechan emphasized.
As reported, "Gazprom" CJSC has announced the suspension of gas supply to "Moldovagaz" JSC from January 1, 2025 "due to the refusal of the Moldovan side to repay the gas supply debt". The report states that "Moldovagaz" regularly does not fulfill the payment obligations stipulated in the current contract, which is a significant violation of its terms.
If Transnistria does not have enough gas, the Transnistrian State Regional Power Plant will not be able to generate electricity for the right bank of the Dniester, which will lead to an acute energy crisis for all of Moldova. Currently, Moldova buys about 80% of the necessary volume of electricity from Transnistria at a price of 66 dollars per 1 MW. If these supplies are stopped, Moldova will have to buy electricity from Romania at almost double the price.
Russian gas supplies to Transnistria were carried out through the territory of Ukraine, with which the contract expires at the end of 2024. Kyiv has categorically stated that it does not intend to extend the Russian gas transit contract. It was also reported about the prospects of gas supply to Moldova through "Turkish Stream", Bulgaria and Romania, but "Gazprom" did not reserve capacity for this.
"Moldovagaz" company was established in 1999. Gazprom owns 50% plus one share of the company, another 35.33% is owned by the government of Moldova, 13.44% of the shares are owned by the unrecognized Transnistrian Property Management Committee, the remaining 1.23% is owned by a minority. individuals and legal entities. The administration of Transnistria transferred its shares to the management of "Gazprom".
