According to the director of the National Center for Crisis Management, Serghei Diaconu, the situation with gasoline imports has improved, there is a surplus and there is no need to keep gasoline in the Giurgiulesti port.
The restriction of retail diesel sales is aimed at preventing panic buying and ensuring a stable supply of the domestic market.
“There are many reports of speculation and abuse, as well as unjustified purchases by individuals at gas stations in uncertified containers. That is why we propose to temporarily restrict retail sales of diesel in consumer containers to a maximum of 20 liters to prevent these excessive purchases and abuses. I repeat – you can fill up a full tank of your car and additionally one certified container of 20 liters. Now there are cases where people come with containers of more than 200 liters and this creates pressure on the market,” Diaconu argued.
Authorities cite the difficult situation on the international oil market and domestic structural constraints. Moldova, almost entirely dependent on supplies from Romania and Bulgaria, is vulnerable to market fluctuations.
In addition, the domestic market is burdened by scheduled maintenance of the largest Romanian refinery Petromidia and sanctions restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian refining companies. At the same time, stock analysis shows that the available fuel reserves in the country are sufficient for 23 days for gasoline and 13 days for diesel.
The measures taken are aimed at maintaining a reliable supply of gasoline and diesel to the population and enterprises, efficient use of infrastructure and prevention of possible disruptions and economic consequences.
For his part, Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu said that the situation is stable at the moment: “the prices are rising, but, as I said earlier, they remain the lowest in the region”.
