OREANDA-NEWS. November 14, 2014. Moldovagaz Manager Alexandr Gusev and Gazprom Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Medvedev  sign  an agreement on the extension of contracts for the supply and transit of gas in Chisinau.

Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Andrian Candu was optimistic about the prolongation of the contract with Russia on the supply of natural gas to Moldova. According to Candu, 90 per cent of the negotiations were completed, and thus Moldova may receive good news this week, even a possible price decrease starting from January 2015.

"We did not advance well, but very well, in the discussions and negotiations with Russia on extending the gas supply contract that expires on 31 December. We are generally at the last stage of talks and believe that we will have some good news in the nearest future," said the economics minister.

Presently, Moldova pays 368 dollars to Russia for one thousand cubic feet of natural gas.

The present contract was signed in December 2006 and expired on 31 December 2011. Since then, the contract has been successively extended in the following years. The 2006 contract was stipulating a gradual increase of the import price. As a result, the purchase price has grew from an average of 76.1 dollars per one thousand cubic meters in 2005 to about 380 dollars per one thousand cubic meters of gas in 2013.

The Russian authorities condition the signing of a new waiver agreement by Moldova to the documents signed under the European Energy Treaty and addressing gas debt, which would amount to more than four billion dollars.