Cheaper gas from Ukraine: Moldova purchased natural gas from Ukraine for the first time
Private companies may export fuel until November 30
Moldova has for the first time purchased natural gas directly from Ukraine, paying less than it did in previous purchases. The country now wants to buy additional volumes while Ukrainian exports remain open. NewsMaker reports.
To make the purchase, Energocom was able to quickly connect to the Ukrainian gas exchange.
“The volumes are small — 2 million cubic meters — but we wanted to test the mechanism: can we buy gas in Ukraine more cheaply and terminate the contracts we already have? The mechanism worked. Energocom made a profit from it,” said Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan.
The window for such deals is limited: private companies are allowed to export natural gas until November 30. After that, restrictions will be reinstated and remain in place until March. This is why the Moldovan authorities are keen to speed up negotiations.
The purchases are expected to help reduce fuel supply costs. In time, these savings could also affect consumer tariffs.
Ukrainian natural gas exports were halted after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
On January 1, 2025, Russia’s Gazprom unilaterally stopped supplying natural gas to the Transnistrian region. As a result, Moldova began supplying gas to Transnistria on credit.
In October 2026, Ukraine partially resumed gas exports. Private producers were allowed to sell abroad up to 15% of the volume they had transferred to the gas transmission system during the previous month. The gas is sold at auctions, and deliveries can be arranged, among other places, at the border with Moldova.
Another planned source of purchases is Romania. As Vasile Tofan previously said, Moldova intends to buy gas there starting in autumn 2027. This will be gas extracted from the Black Sea as part of the Neptun Deep project.
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