Moldova pays Russia’s Gazprom in full for April gas supplies

CHISINAU (Reuters) – Moldova has paid Russian gas producer Gazprom in full for its gas consumption in April, the head of state energy firm Moldovagaz Vadim Ceban said on Wednesday.

The former Soviet republic signed a five-year supply contract last autumn under which the price is determined on a monthly basis and tied to global spot prices for gas and oil.

In April, the price doubled from the March level.

Moldovagaz transferred $69.5 million to Gazprom for March-April supplies of gas, Ceban said on social media.

“The company has no debts for the current natural gas supplies,” Ceban added.

The contract was signed amid continuing talks over Moldova’s debt for previous gas supplies, estimated by Russia at $709 million.

Moldova’s officials said in October that the Moldovan government and Gazprom had agreed to audit the debt in 2022 and negotiate a debt payment schedule.

However, the audit process came to a standstill when Russia sent its troops to Ukraine on February 24.

Moldova has asked Gazprom to postpone the deadline for the audit for 10-12 months but has not received a reply from the gas producer, Moldovan officials said this month.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas; editing by Jason Neely)