Shareholders in Moldovagaz resist asset sales required under EU energy rules

Shareholders of Moldovagaz, the joint Russian-Moldovan gas utility, are unwilling to sell assets required for compliance with the EU’s Third Energy Package, acting CEO Vadim Ceban said on May 22. His remarks follow a decision by the Moldovan government to revoke the company’s gas distribution licence effective from August 1.

Ceban stated that fulfilling the EU-mandated unbundling rules would necessitate the divestment of certain assets, a step the shareholders are neither prepared nor inclined to take. “Even if there were an agreement, the process would take too long,” he added.

On May 23, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced that Moldovagaz would lose its licence to distribute gas to end-users. The move comes as Moldova accelerates its energy sector reforms under its commitment to implement the EU’s Third Energy Package. The regulations require functional separation between gas supply, transmission and distribution operations. Other countries in eastern Europe, including the Baltic States, have had to undertake similar reforms over the last decade.

The reform was originally scheduled to be completed by 2026, but Moldova has since brought forward the timetable following the cessation of gas deliveries from Russia’s Gazprom on January 1, after Russian gas transit through Ukraine was halted. In a related step, Moldovan authorities ordered Moldovagaz in 2023 to transfer control of its gas transmission assets to Romania’s Vestmoldtransgaz.

Moldovagaz was established in 1999. Its largest shareholder is Gazprom, which holds a 50% stake. The Moldovan government owns 35.3%, while the breakaway region of Transnistria holds 13.44%, though Gazprom has assumed voting power relating to the latter’s share.

The standoff over asset unbundling highlights broader tensions between Moldova’s pro-European reform agenda and Russian commercial and political influence. Gazprom’s continued stake in Moldovagaz complicates efforts to align fully with EU energy rules, which aim to promote competition and limit market dominance by vertically integrated incumbents.

Analysts say the decision to revoke the distribution licence is a significant escalation in Moldova’s efforts to restructure its gas sector, but warn that shareholder resistance and legal uncertainty could delay or obstruct implementation of reforms.