Russia's Gazprom Extends Moldova Gas Supply Cutoff by Two Days...Worst-Case Scenario Averted

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom announced that it will extend by two days the deadline for cutting off natural gas supplies to the Moldovan government, reportedly averting the worst gas crisis. Although the Moldovan government was able to temporarily put out the fire with emergency funds from the European Union (EU), concerns remain that Moldova will continue to face threats to its gas supply due to its large outstanding gas payment debts to Russia.

According to Bloomberg on the 24th (local time), Gazprom announced that it had agreed with the Moldovan government to extend the deadline for cutting off natural gas supplies. Earlier, on the 22nd, Gazprom had notified the Moldovan government that despite the payment deadline for gas supplied this year having arrived, the Moldovan government had not paid, and warned that if payments continued to be delayed, gas supplies would be cut off within 48 hours.

In response, the Moldovan government secured $74 million (approximately 87.8 billion KRW) in overdue gas payments through emergency budget allocation and stated that once parliamentary approval is obtained on the 26th, the payment would be sent to Gazprom immediately, leading to a dramatic agreement between the two parties, Bloomberg reported. As a result, concerns over a gas crisis have been temporarily alleviated, avoiding the worst-case scenario.

The Moldovan government’s ability to secure the gas payment was reportedly thanks to emergency funds from the EU. Earlier, when Russia was reported to have demanded that Moldova reduce its cooperation with the EU using gas supply cuts as leverage, the EU provided emergency support funds amounting to 60 million euros (approximately 70 billion KRW).

While the EU funds helped to temporarily ease the situation, concerns remain that Russia’s ongoing threats to cut gas supplies will continue. According to CNN, Moldova is reportedly unable to repay $700 million in outstanding gas debts owed to the Russian government.

The new gas supply contract signed with Russia last month also set the supply price at $450 per cubic meter (㎥), more than three times the previous year’s price of $140 per cubic meter, indicating that securing gas payments will be increasingly difficult going forward.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.