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.
