Page 13 - FSUOGM Week 21 2022

FSUOGM PERFORMANCE FSUOGM

Share of oil and gas in Moldova’s

imports doubles to 26% in Q1-2022

THE share of petroleum products and natural EBRD loan for gas purchase and storage
gas in Moldova’s total imports more than dou- In related news, Moldova is set to benefit from
bled to 26.2% in the first quarter of this year, a €300mn loan from the European Bank for
from 12.5% in the same period of 2021, accord- Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for
ing to the statistics bureau BNS. the purchase and storage of gas, Deschide.md
Thus, imports of natural gas soared by 4.1 reported, quoting sources within the govern-
times to $318.6mn (15.6% of total imports) and ment familiar with the deal.
the imports of petroleum products rose by 1.9 The implementation of the project will allow
times to $216.1mn (10.6% of imports). By com- Moldova to build up strategic stocks of natural
parison, Moldova paid $535mn for the natural gas. It will support the diversification of suppli-
gas and petroleum products used in the first ers and supply sources, in accordance with the
quarter of the year — more than half the value of provisions of Law no. 108/2016 on gas.
its exports. On the upside, Moldova benefitted The draft loan agreement between the
from high prices for grain and oilseeds, which Republic of Moldova and the EBRD received a
accounted for nearly one-third of its exports in positive opinion on May 18, from the Commit-
the first quarter of the year. tee on Foreign Policy and European Integration.
Moldova’s total imports rose by 30% y/y In March, the EBRD announced procure-
to $2.04bn, in the first quarter. The country’s ment procedures, after Moldova’s government
exports rose by 55% y/y to $1.06bn, but they applied for a $300mn loan that intends to partly
remain at roughly half the size of the imports. use towards purchases of gas.
The rise of exports was driven by stronger According to the project passed by the Mol-
exports of grains (cereals) and grain-based dovan authorities on May 18, the loan is to
products, which expanded by 6.1 times to be granted to Moldova in two instalments of
$193.8mn (17.3% of total exports). Exports of €150mn each, and the project’s implementation
oilseeds increased by 2.6 times to $146.1mn period is expected until 2025.
(13.75% of total exports). Under that project, the implementing unit
Overall, both items, taken together (grains is to purchase and store natural gas in under-
and oilseeds) accounted for nearly one-third of ground storage facilities in neighbouring coun-
Moldova’s exports. The share of beverages (alco- tries during the warmer period of the year,
holic and not) decreased to 3.3% ($34.8mn) in “when the price of natural gas is lower.”
the first quarter from 6.6% in the same period The procurement of natural gas will be
of 2021. carried out on the basis of tenders organised
Moldova’s trade gap widened by 12.5% to according to the procedure established by the
$975mn in the first quarter of the year. EBRD. ™

POLICY
Russia halts gas deliveries to Finland

GAZPROM, Russia’s state-run natural gas giant, said in a separate statement that Russian gas
said on Saturday, May 21 that it had stopped all flows had come to a halt on Sunday, in line with
deliveries to Finland as of 6:00 a.m. local time. earlier warnings from Gazprom Export, the
Its announcement was confirmed shortly export arm of Gazprom.
thereafter by Gasgrid Finland, the operator of The wholesaler also said it did not expect this
the Finnish gas pipeline network. Gasgrid said development to affect deliveries to customers,
in a statement that all shipments of Russian gas as it had access to other sources of supply via a
through Imatra, a town on the border where the subsea pipeline link to Estonia. “Starting from
Finnish grid is linked to a branch of Gazprom’s today, during the upcoming summer season,
Gryazovets-Vyborg pipeline, had been stopped. Gasum will supply natural gas to its customers
Additional confirmation came from Gasum, from other sources through the Balticconnector
Finland’s national gas wholesaler. The company pipeline,” it explained in its statement..

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