The Ungheni-Chișinău Gas Pipeline: Outlook for Before and After 2020
The Ungheni-Chișinău Gas Pipeline: Outlook for Before and After 2020

Author(s): Denis Cenușă, Otilia Nuţu, Sergiu Tofilat
Subject(s): Energy and Environmental Studies, Environmental and Energy policy, International relations/trade
Published by: EXPERT-GRUP Centrul Analitic Independent
Summary/Abstract: Politically, the Moldovan authorities must prioritize the construction of the pipeline to Chișinău, where the demand for energy is located. One must put aside the negative political attitudes towards Romania and the European Union (EU), and political decision-makers and institutions must focus on facilitating and accelerating the connection to the Western gas market. The volatility of the regional context does not allow for any stop or delay on political grounds and requires swiftness in finding solutions to technical barriers, within the national legal framework. At the investment level, it is necessary to secure the construction operations of the Romanian company Transgaz SA, both in Romania and in Moldova, against the negative impact of the budgetary and fiscal policies of the Romanian authorities, which may affect the budgets allocated for construction. At the same time, priority is given to co-opting the European resources available to facilitate construction operations. Under no circumstances should the Romanian company receive exclusive treatment contrary to Moldovan legislation in the field of public procurement, environmental protection, etc. In technical matters, starting and finishing the construction requires compatibility between the European (European) construction standards used by the company and the (still) obsolete technical standards in Moldova. Also, there is a risk of a shortage of construction capacities, both for materials (pipelines) and labor force (qualified personnel - welders, site managers, etc.). As a horizontal issue for the whole interconnection project, it is essential to ensure a high level of transparency of the procurement process for the private land along the Ungheni-Chișinău pipeline route and for the actual construction of the infrastructure. On one hand, it is necessary to prevent arbitrary and disputable decisions in the land acquisition process, which could cause opposition to the construction of the pipeline. On the other hand, the up-to-date monitoring of the construction steps will ensure the identification of bottlenecks and their removal as swiftly as possible, in line with existing regulatory requirements.

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