Moldova to increase strategic natural gas reserves to 56.3 mcm

The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Moldova has approved a draft decision to increase the country's strategic natural gas reserves to 56.3 mcm for the 2026–2027 heating season.

The increase of nearly 6.5 mcm is driven by higher real gas consumption during the winter of 2025–2026. The new volume must be formed by Energocom by October 1, 2026. As Moldova has no domestic storage capacity, the entire strategic reserve, equivalent to approximately 10 days of winter consumption, is stored in underground facilities in Romania and Ukraine, as well as in other EU and Energy Community member states.

The creation of these reserves is regulated by national legislation and monitored by the National Agency for Energy Regulation. Strategic reserves are stored separately from commercial stocks and can only be used in emergencies.

In its report, the Secretariat of the Energy Community called Moldova's mechanism for creating reserves an example of best practice. The organization recommended that other countries without their own storage infrastructure follow this example and build stocks in neighboring states at a level of at least 15% of national consumption.