Moldovan Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Spanu said that, as of October this year, natural gas deliveries from Romania through the Iasi-Ungheni- Chisinau gas pipeline will be technically possible.
Minister Spanu stressed that Moldova needs to liberalize its gas market in order not to be burdened by energy dependence or independence, but about where it can buy gas at the best price. He added that only after the completion of the gas pipeline, the two sides would discuss the gas price.
Currently, the main gas supplier Moldovagaz is negotiating a new gas supply contract with Russian Gazprom as the existing one expires on 1 October. Moldovagaz is majority owned by Gazprom.
However, it remains to see if gas imports from Romania will be viable, given the fact that Romanian imports from Russia currently account for 25 % of its total consumption.
