Russian gas supplies to Austria suspended over pricing dispute

Russian gas flows to Austria remained suspended for a second day on Sunday following a pricing dispute between Gazprom and Austria’s OMV.

Gazprom halted deliveries after OMV threatened to seize gas as compensation for an arbitration award related to a contractual disagreement.

Despite the cutoff, Europe quickly absorbed the 17 million cubic metres (mcm) previously sent to Austria. Slovak energy firm SPP confirmed that Russian gas remains in demand due to its lower cost compared to other sources.

Overall, Gazprom reported maintaining daily supplies to Europe via Ukraine at 42.4 mcm, consistent with volumes over the past year.

Austria has assured it has sufficient gas reserves to handle the shortfall and may increase imports via Germany or Italy.

Russian gas, once covering 35 per ent of Europe’s supply, has significantly declined since the start of the Ukraine war. Remaining transit routes, including the pipeline through Ukraine, face uncertainty as Kyiv plans to terminate the transit agreement by the year’s end.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: Y.Yasser