Moldova seeks to postpone January gas advance payment to Gazprom

The logo of Moldovagaz energy company is on display at a gas filling station in Chisinau, Moldova October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Vladislav Culiomza

CHISINAU, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Moldova will pay its December gas bill to Russian supplier Gazprom in the coming days, but is in talks with Moscow to postpone the advance payment for January due to a shortage of funds, Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said on Tuesday.

Moldova and Gazprom have agreed a five-year contract that began on November 1. It requires a prepayment by the 20th day of each month.

Gazprom announced its readiness to halt supply in November after Moldova delayed a prepayment. To resolve the crisis, the Moldovan parliament amended the budget to pay the debt. read more

Spinu told a news conference that the gas importer Moldovagaz lacks 25 million euros for the January advance payment.

“But we are now discussing with Gazprom about postponing this advance payment for January by 20 days, given the fact that Gazprom is also the majority shareholder of Moldovagaz,” he said.

He expressed the hope that Gazprom would agree to postpone the payment date or Moldovagaz would be forced to take out a loan to pay.

Russian gas prices for Moldova rise by 17.5% in January to $646 per 1,000 cubic metres in line with current contract conditions. read more

Reporting by Alexander Tanas, writing by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Jason Neely

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