Moldova to slash tariffs to attract Trans-Balkan transit

LONDON (ICIS)–Moldova is expected to slash its tariffs for transmission through the Trans-Balkan pipeline in a bid to attract more companies to use the corridor linking Ukraine to Romania and the Balkans.

The regulator ANRE is expected to approve a new EU-aligned tariff calculation system which will replace the existing distance-based calculation with EU-type entry-exit tariffs in the coming days.

According to latest data seen by ICIS, entry tariffs for volumes imported via the neighbouring Romania or Ukraine might be set around Moldovan lei 70.00/thousand cubic metres (kcm) ($3.85/kcm) and exit at Moldovan Lei 52.00/kcm ($2.85/kcm).

Tariffs are expected not to include any seasonal variations.

The tariffs were reportedly calculated based on the assumption that Moldova would be importing 1.2billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually for its own needs and transit another 4bcm/year.

If approved in the upcoming days, the tariffs would be much lower compared with the existing transit tariff which is set at $11.00/kcm/100km.

Moldova has been pushing hard to retain its transit role in Eastern Europe after Russia’s Gazprom redirected flows from the Trans-Balkan line to the newly-commissioned TurkStream linking Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea from the beginning of 2020.

Following the redirection of flows, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania lost substantial transit revenue as the 30bcm/year Trans-Balkan line remained idle.

Some companies active in Romania, which traditionally used to import volumes from Russia via Ukraine and Moldova, have recently started to import gas from TurkStream via the southern border point with Bulgaria.