Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 10 -- Moldovan Prime Minister Vladimir Filat said his government has established a commission to investigate the cause of an explosion on a natural gas trunkline that supplied the Balkans with Russian gas.
A section of the line, about 70 km southeast of Moldova’s capital Chisinau, burst on Nov. 8 and cut supplies to 34 Moldovan villages and towns but left gas transit to the Balkans unaffected.
MoldovaGaz Chief Executive Officer Alexander Gusev said the blast may have occurred due to wear-and-tear or even negligent work in its construction. Earlier this year, another blast occurred along the pipeline in the self-proclaimed Dniester Republic, and was attributed to wear-and-tear.
“The country's gas pipelines are ageing while no serious investment in upgrades has been made or is on the horizon,” said analyst IHS Global Insight. “With the onset of winter and no imminent investment on the horizon for Moldova's gas pipeline network, further explosions and gas disruptions may well occur.”
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
Map from Canada Energy Regulator.
