BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 3. Moldova is
interested in attracting investments from Azerbaijan in petroleum
product storage infrastructure, Moldova’s Minister of Energy Dorin
Junghietu said in an exclusive interview with Trend ahead of the
12th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory
Council in Baku.

“Given the considerable efforts undertaken by the Republic of
Moldova to diversify its natural gas supply routes, Republic of
Azerbaijan represents a potential strategic partner for our
country,” he said.

In this context, Junghietu noted that in line with the
objectives pursued during his participation in the 12th Ministerial
Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, one of the
priorities is to strengthen energy ties with Azerbaijan, including
exploring potential cooperation with SOCAR regarding the export of
natural gas and petroleum products.

“The Republic of Moldova is open to expanding cooperation with
Republic of Azerbaijan beyond natural gas supplies, including in
the field of energy infrastructure and joint projects. One area
with concrete potential for cooperation is the petroleum products
sector, particularly the storage of petroleum products,” said the
minister.

He pointed out that in this context, the Republic of Moldova is
in the process of transposing Directive 2009/119/EC on the
obligation to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum
products, which entails developing adequate storage capacities and
appropriate institutional mechanisms.

“The implementation of this framework creates opportunities for
foreign investment and partnerships with international actors that
have relevant experience in the field,” Junghietu added.

The minister noted that the authorities of the Republic of
Moldova are interested in attracting investments from Republic of
Azerbaijan in petroleum product storage infrastructure, as well as
in other related energy projects, under transparent and competitive
market conditions aligned with European standards.

“Such initiatives would contribute both to strengthening the
Republic of Moldova’s energy security and to diversifying bilateral
economic cooperation. The Republic of Moldova is looking for a
strategic investor, given that Lukoil will exit the petroleum
products market. In this context, Republic of Moldova encourages
Azerbaijani companies, such as SOCAR, to explore the opportunities
available on the national market. It is essential that the new
investors integrate with existing partners and contributes to the
development of the country’s energy infrastructure. SOCAR,
recognized as a reliable business partner, provides high-quality
services and adheres to rigorous safety standards in the petroleum
products sector. The proposed collaboration could also include
exchanges of information on the investment climate in the energy
sector of the Republic of Moldova, with the aim of attracting new
investments and facilitating strategic partnerships between the two
states,” he added.

The minister recalled that on an official visit to Baku for the
11th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory
Council, he held a series of high-level meetings.

“Discussions focused on opportunities for cooperation in the
energy sector, with a particular emphasis on diversifying natural
gas supply sources and implementing modern technologies for
electricity generation and distribution,” he said.

During the meeting with Rovshan Najaf, President of the State
Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Minister Dorin
Junghietu underlined the Republic of Moldova’s interest in
diversifying energy sources and in importing petroleum products and
natural gas from Republic of Azerbaijan. The Minister also
discussed attracting investments from Azerbaijani companies into
Republic of Moldova’s energy market, noting that mutually
beneficial cooperation opportunities are available.

“At the same time, the petroleum products market in the Republic
of Moldova is a liberalized, open, and competitive market that
allows access for all suppliers that meet the applicable legal and
regulatory requirements. In this regard, the market is also open to
suppliers of petroleum products from Republic of Azerbaijan. The
supply of petroleum products is carried out on a commercial basis,
in line with market conditions, and the state does not conclude
long-term supply contracts for petroleum products. Decisions
regarding the import of petroleum products, including from Republic
of Azerbaijan, are taken by private economic operators, which are
free to choose their sources of supply based on economic and
logistical considerations,” Junghietu explained.

He pointed out that the authorities of the Republic of Moldova
ensure the necessary regulatory and institutional framework for the
efficient functioning of the market and for the diversification of
supply sources, including by creating favorable conditions for the
entry of new suppliers, in accordance with European standards.

Prospects for long term gas contracts

Junghietu said that the Republic of Moldova, through its
state-owned energy trader JSC „Energocom”, maintains an ongoing and
constructive dialogue with Azerbaijan’s state oil company
SOCAR.

He noted that at present, JSC „Energocom”, has a framework
agreement in place with SOCAR that establishes general commercial
terms and allows for transactions on a spot or short-term basis,
depending on market conditions.

“In this context, companies are already able to trade gas
volumes flexibly in line with prevailing market conjunctures. At
the same time, the main limiting factor for economically viable gas
procurement from Republic of Azerbaijan, including on a potential
long-term basis, remains logistics — specifically, the cost of
transportation along the available routes. Current tariffs applied
by transmission system operators along the relevant corridors are
still significant and materially affect the price of gas
delivered,” said the minister.

Junghietu pointed out that JSC „Energocom”, is closely
monitoring developments related to the Trans-Balkan route and other
regional transport corridors.

“Should further infrastructure optimization and tariff
reductions improve the overall economics of transportation, JSC
„Energocom” would be ready to consider advancing discussions on
longer-term contractual arrangements, including with SOCAR. At this
stage, however, no negotiations on a binding long-term gas supply
contract have been finalized,” he said.

As for gas supplies via the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria
(IGB), the minister recalled that the National Agency for Energy
Regulation (ANRE) decided, in November, to introduce two new
special bundled cross-border capacity products – “Route 2” and
“Route 3” – aimed at facilitating natural gas flows from Greece to
Ukraine via the Trans-Balkan infrastructure.

“These products will be available for the period December 2025 –
April 2026. This decision complements ANRE’s earlier decisions
adopted in May and October 2025, which approved the proposal
submitted by LLC „Vestmoldtransgaz” (Natural gas transmission
system operator of the Republic of Moldova) to introduce the
monthly capacity product “Route 1”, intended for the use of
interconnection points along the Trans-Balkan pipeline connecting
the natural gas transmission systems of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania,
the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine,” he said.

At the same time, Junghietu noted that the involved transmission
system operators and national regulatory authorities agreed on the
application of a 50% discount on the transport tariff, as a bundled
product along the entire route.

“This measure is intended to facilitate the filling and
utilization of gas storage facilities, as well as to cover
Ukraine’s gas consumption needs during the winter period. Both the
two special cross-border bundled capacity products — “Route 2” and
“Route 3” — as well as “Route 1”, introduced earlier, represent
concrete steps toward further integration of the Republic of
Moldova with the European natural gas markets.

These initiatives aim to promote the use of the Trans-Balkan
route as an integral part of the Vertical Gas Corridor. Depending
on regional developments in the natural gas market, the Republic of
Moldova remains open to all opportunities for further integration
that can contribute to strengthening energy security, diversifying
supply sources and routes, and increasing the resilience of the
national energy system,” he added.

Moldova eyes joining green corridor from Azerbaijan to
Europe

The minister said Moldova expresses its interest in the Green
Energy Corridor project, a regional initiative aimed at exporting
green electricity from Azerbaijan to European markets.

“Azerbaijan aims to achieve a renewable energy capacity of 6 GW
by 2030, a goal that will transform the country into a regional
green energy hub. This opens opportunities for deepening bilateral
cooperation in the field of electricity, including through regional
projects to transport green energy to Europe. In this context, the
Republic of Moldova expresses its interest in the Green Energy
Corridor project, a regional initiative aimed at exporting green
electricity from the Republic of Azerbaijan to European markets,
including through the Black Sea submarine electricity transmission
cable project, enshrined in the Memorandum on the Development and
Transmission of Green Energy, signed on December 17, 2022, by the
governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and
Hungary,” he added.

The minister noted that in this regard, Moldova positions itself
as a potential beneficiary, importer, and participant in the
regional interconnection architecture and expresses its willingness
to continue the dialogue with the Azerbaijani side and regional
partners in order to examine its possible involvement in the
project, given that, according to publicly available information,
the expected transmission capacity in the first stage is up to 4
GW.

“Republic of Moldova’s participation in these initiatives would
help diversify electricity supply sources and strengthen national
energy security. In this regard, the Moldovan side expresses its
willingness to examine, together with the Azerbaijani side and
relevant regional partners, options for technical and institutional
cooperation, including the possibility of obtaining observer status
within the project’s coordination structures,” Junghietu said.

He also touched upon the issue of attracting investment in local
green projects by connecting to Azerbaijani initiatives.

“Given the interest of companies such as Masdar and ACWA in the
region, Republic of Moldova can promote its potential for solar and
wind projects, possibly as complementary packages to large
investments in Republic of Azerbaijan. For example, if Masdar
develops 500 MW of solar power in Republic of Azerbaijan, a 50 MW
investment in solar panels in Republic of Moldova could be seen as
part of the regional expansion of their portfolio (also benefiting
from EU support schemes for the Green Eastern Partnership),” the
minister added.

Moreover, he noted that Moldova’s Ministry of Energy encourages
Azerbaijani companies to participate in tenders for renewable
energy projects.

“The Ministry of Energy encourages Azerbaijani companies to
participate in the new round of tenders for the granting of large
eligible producer status from renewable sources, which aims to
develop onshore wind power plants with a supported capacity of up
to 170 MW, with a mandatory battery energy storage system (BESS) of
0.25 MWh for each MW of supported wind capacity. The official
tender documentation was published on December 19 on the Ministry
of Energy’s website,” he explained.

Junghietu noted that the deadline for submitting bids (technical
and financial) is March 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (EET): “In this
context, on January 29, 2026, an Investor Conference dedicated to
onshore wind projects and BESS was held in Chisinau. Potential
investors and developers of wind projects, technology solution
providers, representatives of public authorities and relevant
institutions, representatives of the business community and the
media, as well as other parties interested in obtaining the status
of a large eligible producer participated in the event.”

The minister recalled that in April 2025, the Azerbaijan
Renewable Energy Agency and the National Center for Sustainable
Energy of the Republic of Moldova signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on renewable energy cooperation, which aims to expand
exchange of experience, joint research, and development of
innovative renewable technologies between the two countries.