The Moldovan natural gas company Energocom announced that it will supply its consumers with trial quantities of US-origin liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first time today and tomorrow. Moldova has relied almost exclusively on Russian gas under a deal with state-controlled Gazprom, but has gradually stepped up efforts to diversify after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine two years ago.

Energocom states in its announcement that it will buy LNG from the Alexandroupolis floating terminal in cooperation with the Greek state company DEPA Emporias SA.

“On Monday and Tuesday, we will buy 14,000 MWh (megawatt hours) of natural gas per day at the port of Alexandroupoli. In total it will be about 28,000 MWh, which is equivalent to 2.6 million cubic meters of gas” said the director of Energocom Victor Vinsaz.

The company has already checked the route through which the import will take place from Greece, buying a small amount of natural gas in 2023.

Moldova currently does not buy natural gas from Russia, but its breakaway region does Transnistria relies for its own supplies on Russia. The total quantity of natural gas demand exceeds 3 billion cubic meters per year.