CHISINAU, April 1. /TASS/. Moldova has nearly exhausted its commercial natural gas reserves, while strategic fuel reserves remain untouched, acting director of Energocom Eugeniu Buzatu told reporters.

"Commercial reserves used to cover peak consumption have been almost exhausted. At the moment, we have 4-5 mln cubic meters of gas," Buzatu said, noting that the company manages two types of gas reserves — commercial and strategic.

"Access to strategic reserves is possible only in the event of a crisis situation being declared, which is why these reserves were not used during the past winter. Theoretically, under the state of emergency introduced in the country, they could have been used, but we did not touch them. We hope we will not have to," Buzatu stressed.

In November last year, Energocom management announced its full readiness for winter, with about 100 mln cubic meters of gas injected into underground storage facilities in Romania and another 30 mln cubic meters in Ukraine. According to Moldovan legislation, the country must store at least 15% of its annual gas consumption ahead of winter.

Moldova has been experiencing an energy crisis after Maia Sandu and her ruling Party of Action and Solidarity came to power and pursued a policy of breaking relations with Russia. In 2021, gas tariffs increased sevenfold, which led to inflation exceeding 30% year-on-year and sparked protests. In this situation, the government stated that it had eliminated dependence on Gazprom and classified gas purchase prices. For its part, Gazprom was forced to stop supplies to Moldova from early January 2025 after Ukraine banned transit through its territory and Chisinau refused to settle the issue of debt for consumed gas.

The opposition blames Sandu and her government for the crisis. Government opponents say that Moldova is now buying the same Russian gas on European exchanges, but through numerous intermediaries and at a higher price. The country’s gas transmission system was transferred under the management of the Romanian company Vestmoldtransgaz. As a result, gas transportation tariffs increased.