Moldovagaz pays Gazprom for July gas, requests to defer advance payment for Aug – Moldovagaz CEO

CHISINAU. Aug 22 (Interfax) – Moldovagaz CEO Vadim Ceban on Monday said that the Moldovan-Russian company would not be able to pay the 50% advance payment by the end of the day for the natural gas that it has received from Gazprom in August.

"In order to avoid speculation, I would like to inform that JSC Moldovagaz today paid PJSC Gazprom the debt for the July deliveries of natural gas. Meantime, because of the previously announced reasons, the company has been forced to request the main supplier for a deferral," Ceban said.

The CEO confirmed that Moldovagaz has asked Gazprom for a deferral on the advance payment for August, but has not yet received a response. The request was sent 10 days ago, when it became clear that the company did not have enough funds for the payment.

Ceban had previously explained that, "owing to insufficient tariff coverage of costs related to the purchase, supply, transportation and distribution of natural gas, JSC Moldovagaz’s cash gap will be 285.4 million lei in August, or around $15 million.

The gas contract’s terms and conditions stipulate that Moldovagaz must remit full payment by the 20th of each for natural gas consumed during the previous month, and 50% of the payment for contracted gas for the current month.

The Moldova National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) in early August raised the gas tariff for consumers from 18.62 lei to 23 lei per cubic meter, including VAT, with the dollar exchange rate at 19.30 lei/$1. According to the legally approved methodology, ANRE has calculated the average purchase price at $899 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2022. Meantime, the price for gas from Gazprom in August is $1,458 per 1,000 cubic meters, and it is forecast to be $1,692 per 1,000 cubic meters in September.