The Romanian operator does not hope that Gazprom will pay: gas continues to flow

The Romanian operator of the gas transmission system is suing Gazprom, but no longer expects to receive debts. Meanwhile, the transit of Russian gas through Romania to Hungary continues.

Romanian Transgaz continues judicial and administrative actions to recover funds from Gazprom Export. This is stated in the company's report for the third quarter of 2025.

As of September 30, 2025, Transgaz estimates the debt of the Russian company at 166 million lei (more than $ 38 million) and has already fully reserved this amount as non-refundable.

We are talking about agreements with Gazprom in 2020. Then the Russian company launched the Turkish Stream and supplies via the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline through Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria to Turkey were not needed. As a result, Transgaz and Gazprom signed an agreement to terminate the historic transit contract in December 2020. The document provided for the payment of compensation until the end of 2023 and retained the opportunity for the Russian company to book capacity. However, according to the operator, payments from Gazprom Export have stopped since the fall of 2022. After that, Transgaz filed for Swiss arbitration.

"The category of transit receivables includes invoices issued on the basis of an agreement to terminate a historic contract after October 2022. These bills were not paid by Gazprom Export, and Transgaz initiated the legal procedures necessary to recover the registered debt," the Romanian operator said in a report.

Meanwhile, the transit of Russian gas continues. Part of the volumes for Hungary from the Turkish Stream are supplied through Romania. In January-September, 1.2 billion cubic meters passed along this route, according to ENTSOG.

Alexey Grivach, Deputy Director of the National Energy Security Fund (NWF), believes that European traders are now ordering and paying for the transportation of Russian gas. Therefore, there are no restrictions.

At the same time, the suspension of Gazprom Export payments to the Romanian operator may be related to the regime of mutual restrictions between EU and Russia, suggests the deputy director of the FNEB.