Russia may resume gas supplies to Transnistria via the TurkStream gas pipeline. According to data from the RBP trading platform, on January 20, the Cypriot company Ozbor Enterprises reserved the pipeline’s capacity of 3.1 million cubic meters per day for a month, Kommersant writes. This volume coincides with the gas needs of the unrecognized republic, which is experiencing an energy crisis. Supplies are expected to begin on February 1.
According to sources of the Russian business publication, various options for gas supplies to Transnistria were previously developed, but currently the transit of fuel through Turkey is considered a priority. It will cost Russia $ 160 million, the publication’s interlocutors note.
From Turkey, gas may flow into the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, which operates in a reverse mode, the publication states. However, individual volumes of this pipe to Moldova were not reserved at the monthly auction on January 20. Specifically, sections of the border between Bulgaria and Romania (entry point), Romania and Ukraine (Isacha-Orlovka), Romania and Moldova (Iași-Chisinau pipeline) were planned for reservation.
Bidding for monthly reservations is held every third Monday of the month, after which volumes can be reserved daily, but this is a more expensive option.
The Romanian portal Profit.Ro wrote that Ozbor Enterprises operates on the local market as an importer and exporter of gas. In April 2024, the company received the status of a member of CEEGEX, the operator of the Hungarian gas market, Kommersant explains. Gas trading at Ozbor Enterprises is managed by Miroslav Stoyanovich. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked as a senior gas trader at Gazprom since 2017. until 2022, and before that he was the gas supply manager for the trader WIEE, which was previously indirectly controlled by Gazprom through its German division.
After the termination of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Transnistria on January 1, residents of the region were left without heating and hot water, constant power outages began, and almost all industrial enterprises were stopped. Previously, Gazprom supplied gas to the autonomous region in the amount of about 5.7 million cubic meters per day (2 billion cubic meters per year).
We acknowledge The European Times for the information.
