The Austrian oil and gas company OMV confirmed that the Russian Gazprom will stop supplying natural gas to the company from November 16.
Points of attention
- Gazprom's suspension of gas supplies to the Austrian company OMV raises concerns about Austria's energy security and highlights Russia's use of energy as a political tool.
- Austria reassures its readiness for the situation, with alternative gas supply routes in place independent of Russia, emphasizing the importance of energy independence for the country.
- By cutting off gas supplies, Gazprom once again demonstrates the weaponization of energy resources, prompting Austria to focus on diversifying its energy sources and enhancing energy security measures.
- Austria's energy minister highlights the country's preparedness with full domestic gas storages and alternative supply routes via pipelines from Italy and Germany, underscoring the commitment to protect and maintain energy independence.
- The incident underscores the importance of reducing dependence on a single energy supplier and the significance of having diverse and secure energy supply chains to safeguard against geopolitical uncertainties.
Gazprom stops supplying gas to the Austrian company
OMV Gas Marketing & Trading GmbH (OGMT) has received notification from Gazprom Export that Gazprom Export will cease — and thereby reduce to 0% — the supply of natural gas under the Austrian supply contract with OGMT, starting at 06:00 CET on 16 November 2024 , which will have consequences for the Austrian virtual trading point, the press service commented on relevant media reports.
It was stated that the amount of natural gas that will be reduced is up to 7,400 MWh.
The day before, the Austrian oil and gas company OMV announced that it had won an arbitration claim for 230 million euros against Gazprom Export in a dispute over the disruption of gas supplies under the "German contract". It was noted that the amount of the claim will be immediately credited to the repayment of OMV's obligations to Gazprom Export under the contract for the supply of gas to Austria.
In 2018, the partially state-owned Austrian oil and gas company OMV extended the gas supply contract with Russia's Gazprom until 2040.
At the time of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, Austria bought 79% of its natural gas from Russia, which came in transit through Ukraine. After the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, Austria continued to buy most of its gas from Russia, which is due to the current contract and the "buy or pay" principle contained in it.
Russia uses energy as a weapon
By cutting off natural gas supplies to Austria, Russia once again used energy as a weapon and once again proved that it is not a partner.
Austrian Minister of Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology Leonore Gewessler announced this on her social media page X.
Today, OMV announced that gas supplies from Russia will be cut off tomorrow morning. Russia is once again using energy as a weapon.
At the same time, she assured that Austria "has been preparing for this situation for a long time" and energy supply in the country will be ensured. According to the minister, the country's gas storages currently store more gas than Austria consumes during the year, and there are also alternative gas supply routes — not from the Russian Federation.
Die #OMV hat heute bekanntgegeben, dass die Gas-Lieferungen aus #Russland morgen früh eingestellt werden. Damit setzt Russland einmal mehr Energie als Waffe ein. Österreich hat sich lange auf diese Situation vorbereitet. Unsere Energieversorgung ist sicher. (1/5)
— Leonore Gewessler (@lgewessler) November 15, 2024
Domestic gas storages are full. Currently, more than the annual volume of consumption of Austria is stored there. Pipelines from Italy and Germany offer sufficient capacity to import non-Russian natural gas. The state gas reserve is also completely filled.
She expressed hope that all companies operating on the Austrian gas market will complete the steps to transition to new sources of supply.
Today, Gazprom once again proves that Russia is not a partner. However, one threat will disappear from tomorrow. If we no longer have supplies from Russia, they will no longer be able to blackmail us. Our independence is a valuable asset. We will continue to protect her.
