Gazprom rejected Moldova’s offer to pay $8.6 million out of $709 million debt

Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) categorically disagrees with the proposal of the Moldovan government to pay $8.6 million out of $709 million of Moldovagaz’s historical debt to the Russian company, said press office “Gazprom”. The company intends to continue to defend its rights in all possible ways.

Gazprom said that the auditor’s report, which is presented at site Ministry of Energy of Moldova, was not approved by the supervisory board of “Moldovagaz”, about which the Russian company had previously agreed with the Moldovan government.

The press service emphasized that the auditor and the terms of the tender for the purchase of his services were determined exclusively by the Cabinet of Ministers of Moldova without the participation of Gazprom and Moldovagaz. In addition, the auditor’s conclusions cannot affect the size and validity of the debt, because it is confirmed in regularly signed documents between the companies and arbitration decisions, Gazprom concluded.

Earlier today, September 6, the Government of Moldova, referring to the auditor’s report, proposed Gazprom to pay $8.6 million out of the $709 million debt. According to the Minister of Energy of the Republic, Victor Parlikov, $276 million of the total debt has not been documented by Moldovagaz and Gazprom, another $400 million is not recoverable due to the statute of limitations.

In 2021, the Moldovagaz company renegotiated the agreement with Gazprom on the supply of Russian gas for five years. The agreement was concluded on the condition that Moldovagaz repay the debt, which was then estimated at $709 million. In November 2022, Gazprom threatened reduce supplies to Moldova due to the fact that part of the raw materials “settled” in Ukraine. As a result, Gazprom decided not to do this. Since December, Moldova has refused to supply gas from Russia.

Erdni Kagaltynov