The Romanian state-owned gas transmission system operator Transgaz, though its Moldovan affiliate Vestmoldtransgaz, has signed a 5-year tenancy agreement, taking over the activity of operating, exploiting, dispatching and transmitting natural gas in Moldova through the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline from Moldovatransgaz, an affiliate of the vertically-integrated gas supplied Moldovagaz, a company majority owned by Russia’s Gazprom.
While Moldovatransgaz remains the owner of the 1,900 km Moldovan gas transmission system, Vestmoldtransgaz will operate the pipelines from 19 September 2023 for a period of 5 years. Moldova passed an unbundling law in 2016, but Gazprom had refused to comply, which led to the modification of the legislative framework in Moldova in order to ensure the country's energy security and alignment with the European regulatory framework.