LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

of June 26, 2026 No. 119

About safety of supply with oil products

In view of the constitutional regulations on integration into the European Union fixed by results of republican constitutional referendum of October 20, 2024 and also the purposes of consecutive reduction of the regulatory base of the Republic of Moldova in compliance with the European Union law

The Parliament adopts this organic law.

This law shifts the Directive 2009/119/EC of Council of September 14, 2009 imposing the obligation to support the minimum inventories of crude oil and/or oil products on state members, published in the Official magazine of the European Union by L 265 of October 9, 2009, CELEX: 02009L0119, in the edition adapted and approved by the Decision of Council of Ministers of Energy community 2012/03/MC-EnC of October 18, 2012 with the last changes made by the Executive directive of the Commission (EU) 2018/1581 of October 19, 2018 making changes to the Directive 2009/119/EC of Council regarding methods of calculation of obligations for creation of inventories, published in the Official magazine of the European Union by L 263/57 of October 22, 2018.

Chapter I. General provisions

Article 1. Purpose and scope of the law

(1) the Purpose of this law is creation of the general regulatory base necessary for safety of supply with oil products by implementation of effective, transparent, non-discriminatory and competitive storage system, and also establishment of the procedural regulations necessary for the prevention or settlement of situations of severe violation of supply with oil products.

(2) This law establishes competences and powers of bodies of the public power and public organizations in the field of safety of supply with oil products, some aspects of the institutional organization, measure and the procedure necessary for ensuring continuous supply of the Republic of Moldova with oil products.

(3) Operation of this law extends on:

a) prevention and elimination of situations of severe violation of supply with oil products;

b) creation, maintenance and storage of extraordinary inventories;

c) management, updating, recovery and introduction into circulation of extraordinary inventories;

d) accounting of extraordinary inventories;

e) submission of the reporting on creation, maintenance, storage, management, updating, recovery and introduction into circulation of extraordinary inventories;

f) control, monitoring and supervision concerning extraordinary inventories, including conducting checks and application of financial sanctions;

g) creation, accounting and monitoring of special inventories.

Article 2. Basic concepts

For the purposes of this law the following concepts mean:

1) physical access - package of measures for placement and transportation of the corresponding inventories, aimed at providing their introduction into circulation or the actual delivery to final consumers and at the markets in the corresponding terms and on the conditions promoting mitigation of the arisen or possible difficulties with supply;

2) the bilateral agreement about extraordinary inventories - the special agreement signed between authorized bodies of the Republic of Moldova and the country - the contracting party of Energy community and/or the member state of the European Union which allows to place extraordinary inventories of the Republic of Moldova in the territory of the state signer;

3) additives - the substances which are not hydrocarbons which mix up with oil product for change of properties of this product;

4) the base year - calendar year for which data on consumption or net import used in calculations for scoping of the available extraordinary inventories are collected;

5) fee on extraordinary inventories - the payment intended for financing of creation, maintenance, management, updating and recovery of extraordinary inventories, including fee on the central structure of storage and compensation to the obliged importers;

6) biological fuel - liquid fuel - in the value determined in article 3 of the Law on promotion of energy use from renewable sources No. 10/2016;

7) bunkering - the fuel amounts delivered to courts irrespective of their flag which are used in the international navigation at the sea, lakes, inland waterways and in coastal waters, except for the fuel consumed:

a) the courts used in inland navigation. Differentiation of inland and international navigation is performed depending on dispatching port and port of arrival, but not from flag or national identity of the vessel;

b) fishing boats;

c) armed forces;

8) accidental data collection - accidental receipt of separate data on internal technical instructions of the participant of the market;

9) compensation for the obliged importers - the fee component on extraordinary inventories intended for covering of the reasonable costs incured by the obliged importers on creation and maintenance of extraordinary inventories concerning the quantity established for them;

10) internal consumption - the total quantity of energy products calculated according to appendix 1, delivered for use both in the energy sector, and for other purposes, including deliveries for the sector of conversion, the industry, transport, residential customers and other sectors for final consumption, and also for own consumption of the energy sector, except for raw materials for oil refineries;

11) fee on the central structure of stock holding (further - fee on TsSHZ) - the fee component on extraordinary inventories intended for covering of the reasonable costs incured by the central structure of storage in connection with creation, maintenance, management, updating and recovery of extraordinary inventories, and also costs for implementation of the functions assigned to TsSHZ;

12) the existing international decision on introduction into circulation of inventories - the existing solution of Board of governors of International Energy Agency on ensuring the market with crude oil or oil products by introduction into circulation of inventories by his members and/or by acceptance of additional measures;

13) delegation of the obligation on stock holding - the conclusion of the agreement on maintenance of extraordinary inventories in non-material form between the owner of the obligation on stock holding and the legal entity or the central structure of stock holding of other state having the surplus stocks of oil products or available and acting with capacities for storage;

14) severe violations of supply with oil products - the essential and sudden reducing supply of crude oil and/or oil products which arose in the Republic of Moldova, the country - the contracting party of Energy community or the member state of the European Union, irrespective of whether led it to adoption of the international decision on the actual introduction into circulation of inventories;

15) the central structure of stock holding (further - TsSHZ) the company - the legal entity created or appointed by the Government and authorized to perform activities for purchase, maintenance, sale and recovery of extraordinary inventories and special inventories for the prevention and elimination of situations of severe violation of supply with oil products;

16) the reference importer - the importer of oil products who in calendar year, prior year of establishment of the obligation on stock holding, imported one or several products provided by part (2) Articles 11, and which import volumes are considered in case of determination of its individual share in the obligation on stock holding;

17) the obliged importer - the reference importer to whom according to this law the actual obligation on creation and maintenance of extraordinary inventories in the quantity established for it is assigned;

18) installations for storage - set of the reservoirs, the equipment, structures and the corresponding technological infrastructure intended for acceptance, storage and supply of oil products;

19) the operator of installation for storage - the legal entity having permission who owns installation for storage and/or operates the installation for storage registered in the State register of potentially dangerous industrial facilities and technical installations and performs storage for own needs or for the third parties;

20) storage - placement of oil products on installations for storage and their maintenance with ensuring quantity, proper to use, and quality of these products;

21) commercial inventories - the inventories of oil products which are at economic operators in commercial purposes, at the same time this law is not established by the obligation on their maintenance;

22) inventories of oil and oil products - inventories of the energy products provided in appendices 2 and 3;

23) extraordinary inventories - inventories of oil and oil products which the Republic of Moldova shall create and support according to this law;

24) extraordinary inventories in non-material form - the extraordinary inventories which are drawn up by the contract with the legal entity having surplus stocks of oil products which provides the right, but not the obligation to acquire oil products according to predefined criteria during previously established period;

25) raw material stocks for oil processing - inventories of energy products, including crude oil, liquid components of natural gas, raw materials for oil processing, additives / оксигенаты, other hydrocarbons and oil products as they are determined in appendix 2;

26) special inventories - the subcategory of extraordinary inventories consisting of the oil products acquired and supported by TsSHZ of inventories only in material form and declared in this quality according to this law;

27) the owner of the obligation on stock holding - TsSHZ and/or the obliged importer to whom according to this law the obligation on creation and maintenance of extraordinary inventories is assigned.

Chapter II. The administrative and regulating powers

Article 3. Government

For ensuring goal achievement, provided by this law, the Government:

a) approves program documents and regulations for the purpose of safety of supply of the Republic of Moldova with oil products, and also creation, maintenance, storage, management, updating and recovery of extraordinary inventories, and for their introduction into circulation and use;

b) approves the Plan of reaction in situations of severe violation of supply with oil products (further - the Plan of reaction) and the Action plan on creation of extraordinary inventories (further - the Action plan);

c) creates or appoints TsSHZ and approves its situation / charter or on circumstances the act of appointment and the corresponding conditions;

d) annually approves quantity and structure of extraordinary inventories, and also if necessary creation of special inventories;

e) approves regulations about financing of extraordinary inventories, including the Method of calculation of fee on extraordinary inventories, the fee size on extraordinary inventories, the fee size on TsSHZ and the amount of compensation to the obliged importers;

f) approves regulations about purchase and alienation of oil products, the conclusion of TsSHZ of service agreements on storage, and also about maintaining the General register of extraordinary inventories and the General register of special inventories;

g) claims or if necessary disposes about the beginning of negotiations and signing of bilateral agreements about extraordinary inventories according to the regulatory base applicable to international treaties.

Article 4. The central industry body of public management in the field of power

(1) the Central industry body of public management in the field of power (further - the central industry body) the politician in the field of safety of supply with oil products, including extraordinary inventories provides development, promotion, coordination and monitoring of implementation public, and performs the following powers:

Disclaimer! This text was translated by AI translator and is not a valid juridical document. No warranty. No claim. More info