Fast Facts
| Trading Licence | ANRE Natural Gas Wholesale Trading Licence or Natural Gas Supply Licence required |
| Local Entity | Foreign traders must establish a local Moldovan company; Branches are not accepted for licensing |
| Financial Proof | 1,000,000 MDL (approximately EUR 51,000) in a bank account or via credit agreement |
| Security Clearance | Positive State Information and Security Service (SIS) approval and anti-money-laundering clearance |
| Balancing | BRP registration plus VMTG balancing and transmission arrangements; BRM EST balancing platform |
| Market Scale | 100% dependent on gas imports; gas is 27% of primary energy consumption |
Moldova Gas Market Fundamentals
Natural gas trading in Moldova takes place in a liberalised market aligned with EU rules. Moldova is fully dependent on imported gas, and gas accounts for 27% of primary energy consumption.
Wholesale gas trading is carried out on BRM EST, the Romanian Commodities Exchange subsidiary in Moldova, which offers spot, forward and balancing platform services.
Since 2022, Moldova has diversified supply through EU gas market imports and LNG imports via Greek terminals. The system is interconnected with Romania and Ukraine and Moldova is a key gas transit country, with the Trans-Balkan pipeline being used in reverse flow.
When Is a Licence Required in Moldova's Gas Market?
ANRE, the National Energy Regulatory Agency, is Moldova's energy regulator. All gas participants must hold either a Natural Gas Wholesale Trading Licence or a Natural Gas Supply Licence.
EU and Energy Community licence passporting is not available. Foreign entities must establish a local legal entity in Moldova before obtaining a domestic ANRE licence.
The ANRE application dossier is submitted in Romanian and signed by a legal representative. Applicants must receive positive State Information and Security Service (SIS) approval and anti-money-laundering clearance, and evidence at least MDL 1,000,000 (approx. EUR 51,000) in financial resources.
What Are Moldova's Gas Market Licence Requirements for EU and Non-EU Entities?
EU and non-EU entities face the same requirement: all foreign traders must establish a local company in Moldova, as branches are not accepted for licensing purposes.
Applicants must receive positive State Information and Security Service (SIS) approval and anti-money-laundering clearance, employ qualified personnel and appoint an administrator holding a university degree.
Financial capacity must be demonstrated through a bank statement, previous-year financial statement (for an active company) or credit agreement, confirming the availability of MDL 1,000,000 (approx. EUR 51,000).
Balancing in the Moldova Gas Market
Vestmoldtransgaz is Moldova's certified gas TSO, responsible for network balancing and operation of the single balancing zone.
Users must register as Balancing Responsible Parties and sign balancing and participation agreements with BRM EST for the balancing platform.
Moldova currently applies interim balancing measures while EU rules are gradually implemented by 2030. Network users must provide a financial payment guarantee to the TSO to cover potential negative imbalance charges.
Transmission Capacity in the Moldova Gas Market
Shippers must conclude a framework Gas Transmission Agreement with Vestmoldtransgaz before booking capacity.
Cross-border capacity at interconnection points is booked through auctions on the Regional Booking Platform (RBP). Capacity at points with EU Member States is bundled starting 2026, while capacity between Moldova and Ukraine remains unbundled at some IPs, and bundled at other IPs.
Route 1, 2 and 3 superbundled capacity products for transit from Greece to Ukraine offered. Starting the 2026-2027 gas year, Vestmoldtransgaz applies a 90% discount to the transmission tariff on the Trans-Balkan Pipeline for gas transit to Ukraine.
Moldova Gas Market Exchange(s)
BRM EST, a subsidiary of the Romanian Commodities Exchange, is the main gas trading platform in Moldova.
The exchange operates spot day-ahead and intraday products, forward products from week to year and OTC bilateral contract markets.
In previous years, as much as 90% of right-bank of Moldova annual gas consumption was traded through the BRM platform (left bank not included).
BRM provides clearing and financial settlement services and acts as the third-party operator of the balancing platform where shippers trade to financially settle daily imbalances.
5 Market Entry Steps for Moldova Gas Market
- 01Create a local Moldovan subsidiary and obtain the ANRE gas trading or supply licence.
- 02Register as a BRP and sign transmission and balancing agreements with Vestmoldtransgaz.
- 03Evidence 1,000,000 MDL (approximately EUR 51,000) in a bank account or credit agreement.
- 04Register on RBP for cross-border capacity booking and on BRM EST for gas trading.
- 05Register in ANRE's National Registry of Wholesale Market Participants before transactions.
- Post-Market Entry Reporting Obligations.
CorreggioNET, Moldova Gas Market Access Report
Market Access Reports: CorreggioNET offers Pre-Market Entry Reports (PMER) as part of the PMER Library, providing firms an A to Z guide for market entry.
CorreggioNET Alert Service: helps you never miss a reporting obligation. Note that Moldova has several gas market reporting obligations, combined with high regulatory volatility.
CorreggioNET Hotline: for your time-sensitive queries, the Regulatory Hotline Service provides direct support through an online interaction with a qualified regulatory specialist.
Consulting Solutions: For those firms which require additional assistance, Correggio Consulting is on hand to assist with all your licensing needs:
- Obtaining a gas trading licence in Moldova;
- BRP and TSO Registration with Vestmoldtransgaz;
- Corporate structuring;
- Exchange onboarding;
- EFET contract negotiation;
- Yearly compliance audits.
Market Info
Stay Compliant After Market Entry
Entering a new market is only the beginning.
Once trading activity starts, the real challenge is staying compliant with ongoing regulatory updates and reporting obligations. CorreggioNET supports this post-market entry stage through its regulatory platform and monitoring services.
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