Russia halts gas to Austria after payment dispute
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Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned natural gas giant, halted gas deliveries to Austria on Saturday morning after OMV, the Vienna-based utility company, announced it would cease payments following an arbitration ruling.
The suspension occurred just hours after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer held an urgent press conference on Friday to reassure citizens about the country’s secure alternative fuel reserves for the upcoming winter season.
This morning, Russian Gazprom stopped gas supplies to Austria.
Austria's close cooperation in gas imports, which had existed since 1968, first with the USSR and then with Russia, came to an abrupt halt within 3 days.
◾️ How and why did it happen?
On November 14, Austrian… pic.twitter.com/vVpIgcKdBc— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 16, 2024
The decision by OMV to withhold payments came after winning a 230 million-euro ($242 million) arbitration case through the International Chamber of Commerce, relating to a previous gas disruption affecting its German operations.
According to OMV’s email correspondence, gas flows ceased completely at 6 a.m. Saturday. The utility company had previously assured stakeholders on Wednesday about its robust gas reserves, noting that Austrian storage facilities were more than 90% full to meet customer demands during potential supply interruptions.
Russian gas will stop flowing to Austria on Saturday after Ukraine refused to renew transit agreements via pipelines on its territory. Ukraine has accused Russia of channeling the profits from energy trade to finance the war https://t.co/RqfUzpHFeG pic.twitter.com/OZt7beEeJx
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 16, 2024
This development follows Russia’s broader pattern of cutting off most European gas supplies in 2022, citing disagreements over ruble-based payments. European leaders condemned these actions as energy-related retaliation for their support of Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
The supply disruption forced European nations to seek alternative gas sources at premium prices, primarily through liquefied natural gas imports from American and Qatari suppliers.
The situation is particularly significant for Austria, which has been heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, with imports reaching as high as 98% of its total gas consumption in December of the previous year, according to Energy Minister Lenore Gewessler.
