The Moldovan government will discuss with Ukrainian officials the possibility of signing a long-term contract for the supply of natural gas, Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said on the eve of his visit to Kyiv.
“Until now, there has been a moratorium on gas exports from Ukraine. Very recently, an initiative was launched to lift this moratorium, as Ukraine also needs budget revenue. Indeed, the country has a certain surplus of gas. It is produced in two regions: Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk. The volumes available for export are not very large. I’ve heard figures of around 500 million cubic meters of gas, which is roughly the amount we’ll need during the gas year on the regulated market,” said Tofan, as quoted by the state agency “Moldpres.”
According to him, this issue will be discussed during his visit to Kyiv, which is planned for the near future.
The prime minister expects Kyiv to offer Chisinau a competitive price for gas if a long-term contract—for 3 to 5 years—is signed. “We need to understand that Ukraine will sell this gas at market price. The cost can be reduced through an agreement that provides for a longer purchase term. If we buy gas for immediate consumption, we pay the market price or a price close to it. However, Ukrainian gas could be cheaper because our transportation costs will be lower. If we manage to negotiate the terms and conclude an agreement for a longer purchase period—three, four, or five years—by offering them a purchase guarantee, then the price could indeed be lower,” Tofan noted.
On October 7, the Ukrainian government approved the partial resumption of natural gas exports, which had been suspended in 2022. According to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, private producers will be able to export up to 15% of the volume of gas produced in the previous month. This mechanism will not apply to state-controlled companies and is intended to allow private producers to sell gas to foreign markets under regulated conditions.
As previously reported, Moldova entered another round of the energy crisis in August and September, causing domestic gas tariffs to rise 1.7-fold over two months; the country is also facing a sharp increase in the cost of imported petroleum products. A state of emergency in the energy sector has been in effect in Moldova since September 26.
In September, the Moldovan prime minister repeatedly stated the need to conclude long-term direct contracts for gas imports with producers, as opposed to exchange-traded forward contracts on the TTF hub in the Netherlands, under which gas has been supplied to Moldova since 2022. In particular, Tofan initiated negotiations on gas imports from the United States, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. He also stated that Moldova plans to conclude direct contracts for gas supplies in 2027 from Romania, specifically from the Neptun Deep field in the Black Sea.
ENERGY, EXPORTS, MOLDOVA, NATURAL GAS, UKRAINE
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