Moldovagaz is trying to contribute to the creation of a vertical natural gas corridor, and this year is expected “a battle for capacities”, said Vadim Ceban, Chairman of the Moldovagaz Board of Directors.

“If there is not enough capacity, we run the risk that in a cold winter we will consume 12 or even 15 million cubic cubic meters of gas daily on both banks of the Dniester,” Ceban warned at the conference Regional Approach: Chisinau 2024, organised by Energynomics.

The Trans-Balkan vertical corridor, to which Moldovagaz is also contributing in cooperation with Moldovatransgaz and Tiraspoltransgaz, would have an annual technical capacity of 9 billion cubic meters of gas (95.4 million MWh), respectively a daily capacity of 18 million cubic meters (190,801 MWh). This system could supply natural gas to some 700,000 consumers in the Republic of Moldova. The reverse gas flows will also be able to supply Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Moldova.

Ceban said about 80% of the country’s gas consumption occurs in the first and last quarters of each year. The analysis for 2019-2023 shows that the largest volume of gas was distributed in Moldova in 2020 and 2021, with 1.008 billion cubic meters in 2020 and 1.14 billion cubic meters in 2021. In 2022, the volume distributed decreased significantly, by 30% compared to 2021, and by 40% in 2023.

Among the main factors influencing this decrease are the impact of the energy crisis on the national economy, the increase in natural gas prices, the shift of more consumers to alternative heating sources (oil, coal, biomass) and the atypical weather conditions for the cold season with positive winter temperatures.

The conference Regional Approach Chișinău 2024 was organized by Energynomics with the support of our partners: Boglight Gaz Moldova, Elektra Renewable Support, Parapet GmbH, Siemens Energy, Simtel Team, SolaX Power, Waldevar Energy, Transgaz.