CHISINAU, July 31. /TASS/. From August 1, the Moldovan authorities will be able to begin revoking the gas supply license of Moldovagaz, Vadim Cheban, acting chairman of the board of Moldovagaz, said in an interview with Moldovan portal Newsmaker. He was commenting on the July 31 deadline for selling the company’s assets or dividing the company.
"We are at the end of July and I already have information that there will be no such decision. Accordingly, Moldovagaz remains the owner of assets, but, according to the law, since it does not have the right to continue supply activities - one entity cannot own the assets and supply natural gas, since this is a free market - the license will most likely be revoked," said Cheban.
The changes are related to Chisinau's obligations to the EU Energy Community to implement the provisions of the Third Energy Package, which provide for the division of Moldovagaz into three enterprises: for gas supply, its transportation and distribution. The process was supposed to be completed by 2026, but after the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine and Gazprom supplies to Moldova, this period was reduced to July 31. According to Cheban, one of the obstacles to the company’s split is its debt to Gazprom for gas supplied to Moldova.
Earlier, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who anticipated such a result, announced that the process of revoking Moldovagaz's license for supplies would start in August. This work will be undertaken by the state-owned enterprise Energokom, which is also involved in gas purchases.
In 2023, the Moldovan authorities obliged Moldovagaz to transfer its gas transportation system to the management of the Romanian company VestMoldTransgaz.
Moldovagaz was established in 1999. Its largest shareholder is Gazprom, which controls 50% of the shares, another 35.3% belongs to the Moldovan government, and 13.44% to Transnistria. The unrecognized republic transferred its shares to Gazprom. Today, Moldovagaz manages 12 companies that service about 26,000 kilometers of gas pipeline. The enterprises employ about 5,000 people. Cheban assured that even without a license the company will continue to operate and make a profit, since other energy companies do not have such infrastructure and will be forced to use its services. Cheban also said that Moldovagaz will also keep the function of gas supply to Transnistria.