“Unfortunately, neither in Moldova, nor in neighboring countries, there is no such organization that could evaluate these stocks – how much they are worth at the moment. Usually we account for them on the balance sheet, i.e., conditionally speaking, we bought them for 1 leu, we account for them for 1 leu, although their value may be higher or lower. There is no specialized organization in our area that can do this. Although we have a recommendation from the Accounts Chamber on this issue, we are in the process of preparing the technical task – it is almost ready and will soon be published on public procurement platforms. Perhaps some organization will respond to our request to assess these reserves, but unfortunately there is no such structure in our Balkan region,” said Eugeniu Buzatu, Acting General Director of Energocom.
At the meeting of the Parliamentary Commission for the Control of Public Finances, he emphasized that Energocom manages the reserves, but is not their owner.
“The state has delegated to Energocom the authority to accumulate these reserve stocks, namely for 10 days of average consumption. For example, right now the reserves are about 50 million cubic meters, and they are stored in storage facilities in neighboring countries, because we don’t have our own storage facilities – we keep them in Ukraine and Romania. We, Energocom, cannot consider ourselves the owners of these reserves, their owners are all of us, citizens who indirectly contributed to their formation. Thus, we cannot be considered de facto owners, but according to contracts with storage operators, such as Depogaz in Romania and the Operator of the Gas Transportation System of Ukraine (OGTSU), they are responsible for the safety and integrity of these reserves, and we are in practice only their managers.”
Konstantin Borosan, Director in the NARE Admin Council, reminded that the mechanism of reserve stocks was introduced in the Natural Gas Law in response to disruptions in gas supplies in 2021-2022. The reserves are formed gradually up to a volume equivalent to 10 days of winter consumption: the first year – 4 days, the second – another 4 days, the third – the remaining 2 days. Now all 10 days have been formed.
Adrian Lebedinsky, Chairman of the Commission for Control over Public Finances, emphasized that the assessment of reserves should be transparent and understandable: “I think there is no need for big mathematical calculations here. We know what volume they have – at one storage facility and at the second one – and we know the market price. That is, you make an estimate based on the current price on the stock exchange. If it costs so much, it is worth so much.
A hearing on Energocom’s management of state assets and financial resources for 2021-2023 found that accounting for the natural gas reserve stockpile is done in the absence of certain regulatory guidelines, indicating possible risks to the “quantitative and qualitative integrity of the reserves.” The Chamber of Accounts recommended that the company regulate the procurement case management process, develop an information system that integrates accounting information with data from the trading division, and correctly apply international standards for revaluation of natural gas reserves.
