Russian gas producer Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic meters of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Saturday, the same volume as Friday, despite forecasts of reduced gas deliveries to the Austria due to a contractual dispute.
Russian news agency Interfax cited data from European gas pipeline operators that Russia’s gas exports through Ukraine were stable, while the Austrian company OMV was not among the recipients of the gas.
The agency said OMV typically accounts for about 40% of Russian gas flows through Ukraine, or some 17 million cubic meters per day. It was not immediately possible to know whether the streams had been redirected.
On Friday, Russia announced to Austria that it was suspending gas deliveries via Ukraine from 5 a.m. GMT on Saturday, meaning the last gas flows from Moscow to Europe have ended.
The current five-year agreement between Russia and Ukraine expires at the end of this year and kyiv has repeatedly said it is not willing to extend it amid the ongoing military conflict.
Moscow’s suspension of gas deliveries to Austria, the main recipient of gas via Ukraine, means that Russia will now only supply large volumes of gas to Hungary and Slovakia, in the case of Hungary , via a gas pipeline crossing mainly Turkey.
In contrast, Russia met 40% of the European Union’s gas needs before Moscow sent thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022.
Russia shipped some 15 billion cubic meters of gas through Ukraine in 2023, or about 8% of peak Russian gas flows to Europe via various routes in 2018-2019, according to data compiled by Reuters.
By 2023, Ukraine’s transit route will meet 65% of gas demand in Austria and its eastern neighbors Hungary and Slovakia, according to the International Energy Agency.
Canada
