OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2011. In the months to come, Moldova will start negotiations on a new contract on gas supply, in order manage to sign it in due time, since the agreement signed in 2006 expires on 31 December 2011.

Moldova has already set up a group of negotiators and approved their mandates for the eventual launch of talks.

On the sidelines of an International Economic Forum, held on 16-18 June in St. Petersburg, Russia, Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Valeriu Lazar discussed the start of talks on the signing of a new gas supply agreement, with the deputy chairman of the Russian gas concern Gazprom, Valeri Globev.

"I invited Mr. Golubev to pay a visit to Chisinau. He is expected to come to Moldova in July, when we are going to mark out the benchmarks of the talks due to be held between Moldovagaz and Gazpromexport. Given the fact that we, just as Mr. Golubev are part of the Moldovagaz management board, we are going to outline this process," Lazar said.

Moldova has previously announced its intention to stick to the European practices in the negotiations with the Russian gas provider. So far, the EU countries were obliged to pay the entire sum for the purchased gas, even if the amount of the consumed gas was lower or they were using alternative sources at lower prices. Presently, the EU consumers have the right to include a margin of 10-15 per cent from the amount of the purchased gas, which is not paid if the consumption does not exceed 10-15 per cent or this amount is covered from alternative sources.

The contract signed in 2006 expires on 31 December 2011. The new contract on gas supply is to be signed with Gazpromexport, a subsidiary company of the Russian concern, dealing with gas exports, in particular to the EU countries.

According to the National Agency for Regulation of Energy, the gas purchasing price soared from 76.1 dollars for 1,000 cubic meters in 2005, to 322 dollars in the second quarter of 2011. Starting from 1 July, the import price might reach 356 dollars for 1,000 cubic meters. The gas import decreased from 1.418.6 million cubic meters in 2005 to 1.187.8 million cubic meters in 2010. The gas rates for end consumers hiked from 1,183 lei for 1,000 cubic meters in 2005 to 4,590 lei for 1,000 cubic meters in 2011.