Moldova settles Russian gas debt for April

 Moldova's state gas company Moldovagaz has settled its debt for Russian gas supplies delivered in March, and paid in advance for all shipments in April, the company's head Vadim Ceban said on April 20.

The bill amounted to $69.5mn, Ceban said on his Telegram channel. It was paid with funding from the government.

Moldovagaz signed a new five-year gas supply contract with Gazprom at the end of October, under which the price is indexed to oil and gas benchmarks. The price doubled in April, prompting fears that Moldova would be unable to settle its bill, which was due on April 20.

The two sides also agreed in autumn to conduct an audit in 2022 of Moldova's overall gas debt, estimated by Russia to be $709mn, and set out a repayment schedule. In the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Moldova's government has asked for the deadline for the audit's completion to be postponed by 10-12 months, but has not received a response from Gazprom.