Moldova plans to introduce a national system of strategic oil and petroleum product reserves designed to last at least 90 days, to prevent fuel supply crises.

This step is enshrined in a bill drafted by the Ministry of Energy, which defines the rules for forming, managing, and using emergency reserves.

According to the document, minimum reserves are established as the greater of two indicators: 90 days of net imports of oil products or 61 days of domestic consumption. According to explanatory notes, the baseline level for 2023 was about 295,830 tons of oil equivalent.

The bill aims to ensure supply security and rapid intervention in case of serious market disruptions, and also seeks to align the legislation with European norms by implementing EU directives that obligate countries to maintain minimum stocks.

Key provisions of the bill

For managing reserves, it is proposed to create a centralized autonomous public institution that will purchase, store, and release reserves. A substantial portion of the stocks – about 95 thousand tons of gasoline and diesel fuel – will be stored in physical form under the direct management of this entity. The remaining volumes may be stored by importers or under storage contracts, including the possibility of storage abroad under the law.

It is also proposed to establish a Council for the Security of Oil Product Supply, comprising representatives of government agencies and the energy market. It will analyze risks and propose measures in the event of a fuel crisis.

According to the documents, the country is almost entirely dependent on fuel imports: in 2023, imports of oil products amounted to about 825 thousand tons, of which more than 70% were diesel fuel, about 20% were gasoline.

The authors of the bill are convinced that introducing reserves will boost energy resilience and enable rapid response to supply disruptions, reducing risks to the economy, transport, and agriculture. Currently, Moldova does not have a fully-fledged system of emergency oil reserves.

According to the regulator, today diesel fuel stocks in warehouses and gas stations total about 15 days of consumption, and gasoline about 20 days.

The main goal of the initiative is to strengthen energy security and ensure an operational response to potential supply disruptions, which will help reduce the crisis’ impact on the economy, transport, and agriculture.