Moldova moves to take over an aviation fuel terminal owned by Russia's Lukoil

DW (English)

Moldova plans to return to state ownership the aviation fuel terminal run by Russian company Lukoil at Chisinau International Airport. The decision comes in response to US and UK sanctions on Russia.

Transcript

00:00The Republic of Moldova has moved to restore state ownership of the aviation fuel terminal

00:05at Kishinau Airport. The terminal in question was privatized in 2005 and has been owned by

00:11the Moldovan subsidiary of Russian oil giant Lukoil ever since. At the end of October 2025,

00:18the United States imposed sanctions on the Russian companies Lukoil and Rosneft and their

00:23subsidiaries, aiming to reduce Russia's oil revenues and thus its ability to finance its

00:29war on Ukraine. The UK soon followed suit and the Republic of Moldova declared that it would

00:35support the sanctions. When the sanctions on Lukoil came into force late last year,

00:40the airport began buying fuel from Romania and storing it in Lukoil-Moldova's fuel terminal

00:45to ensure uninterrupted air traffic at what is the country's only international airport.

00:51After subsequently seeking to purchase the aviation fuel terminal,

00:54Moldovan authorities decided to return it to state ownership, as it had been before 2005,

01:01citing breaches of contractual obligations by the company. Energy expert Alexandru Slusari welcomes the decision.

01:09In the strategic perspective, from my perspective, it is correct that all the critical infrastructure,

01:17the airport and the terminals at the airport for shipments, this critical infrastructure,

01:27it should be in the state of the country. And in this regard, we can only welcome this decision.

01:34In 2005, Lukoil purchased the aviation fuel terminal for 10 million Moldovan lei.

01:40Worth about 600,000 euros at the time, this was a relatively small amount for such a key piece

01:46of strategic infrastructure. Moldova's Prime Minister Alexandru Montiano has alleged that Lukoil for years

01:53violated contractual provisions, including by failing to meet investment obligations. As a result,

01:59the state now wants to terminate its contract with Lukoil.

02:03I think it's a very strange situation when the strategic structure, the international international report,

02:11which is also strategic, was practically transferred into a monopoly of a private player.

02:22But some experts are concerned about the legal grounds put forward by the government,

02:34and believe that more transparency is needed on a number of aspects,

02:38including the sale of the terminal to Lukoil 20 years ago.

02:41The results of my mistakes are related to the case, that it happened after 20 years.

02:46That means, until now, the government did not see, not analyze this situation.

02:55I'm very hopeful that there are all the reasons for the case,

02:59to be able to solve this decision.

03:01We have made an analysis of how the infrastructure in 2005

03:05The fact that we did not show these documents, not the details of this decision,

03:12leads to certain concerns.

03:16Representatives of the Moldovan Ministry of Energy told DW that the procedure to return

03:21the fuel infrastructure to state ownership is expected to be completed by mid-January

03:262026 and that Lukoil is actively cooperating with the authorities.

03:31To date, however, Lukoil has made no public statements on the matter.

03:36DW contacted Lukoil Moldova for comment, but received no reply to its email request.

03:42When contacted by phone, a representative of Lukoil told DW that the company has no comment.

03:49Once the contract is terminated, the airport's critical fuel supply infrastructure will return

03:54to state ownership free of charge, because in the absence of a valid contract, the airport's

04:00fuel infrastructure reverts to the state.

04:03Some experts in Chisinau expect that Lukoil will sue the state and seek compensation.

04:08I don't know if this thing is happening, but on the other hand, we, as a government,

04:14we are prepared for some countermeasures, because we consider that we are in accordance with the

04:21legislation of the Republic of Moldova, with the international legislation, and we consult

04:27with the advocates.

04:28So, we are prepared for the strategic interests of the Republic of Moldova.

04:36So, while the Moldovan state has made its intentions clear, it remains to be seen how Lukoil

04:42will respond.

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