Gazprom has enforced another claim against Moldova’s natural gas transport operator Moldovagaz, worth $476mn, in the International Court for International Arbitrage of the Industry and Trade Chamber of the Russian Federation. The bills are largely for the natural gas delivered to the Moldovan separatist republic of Transnistria. 

The claim covers unpaid bills issued for natural gas delivered in 2015, and follows other similar claims issued on an annual basis that are now estimated to total around $7bn (close to the country’s GDP). The bill enforced in 2017 for the gas delivered in 2014 was worth $769mn. Gazprom took no further steps to collect the money, though. Instead, the claim is used as a political instrument.

The separatist authorities, through Tiraspoltransgaz, receive the gas but treat revenues they collect when it is sold to industrial and residential users as revenues to their budget, as they consider the natural gas deliveries to be aid from Russia. Gazprom, meanwhile, bills Chisinau-based Moldovagaz for the gas. 

Gazprom rejected in February 2017 a proposal by Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip for the debt it is owed by Transnistria to be registered separately from Moldova’s debt.

At that time Moldova owed Gazprom $6.5bn in historic debt, out of which $5.8bn was owed by Transnistria, which is not under the control of the Moldovan authorities.

Notably, Moldovagaz is 50% controlled by Gazprom itself and the Moldovan authorities hold a minority 35.33% stake. The separatist authorities in Transnistria hold another 13.44% stake.

Moldova proposed giving assets, namely some shares in Moldovagaz, to Gazprom, in exchange for the historic debt. However, this offer was linked to the separate registration of Transnistria’s debt. Since Gazprom already controls Moldovagaz this undermines the bargaining power of the Moldovan officials.