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The Russian company Gazprom maintained its gas deliveries to Europe via Ukraine this Saturday, despite the interruption of flows intended for Austria. This decision marks a new episode in energy tensions between Moscow and Europe, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
Maintaining flows via Ukraine
Gazprom said it would continue to transport 42.4 million cubic meters of gas through Ukraine, the same volume as the day before. However, these flows represent only a fraction of historical deliveries: in 2023, around 15 billion cubic meters of gas passed through Ukraine, just 8% of the levels seen in 2018 and 2019, according to Reuters data.
Break with Austria
Russia has decided to suspend its gas deliveries to the Austrian company OMV after an arbitration in favor of the latter. The court ordered Gazprom to pay 230 million euros to OMV for previous supply problems.
The suspension ends almost 60 years of Austria’s dependence on Russian gas. Usually, OMV receives around 40% of its flows through Ukraine, or 17 million cubic meters per day.
Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler called the decision “a new use of energy as a weapon by Russia”, while ensuring that the country had taken measures to guarantee its supplies through strategic reserves and to imports from Italy and Germany.
Energy pressure across Europe
Moscow’s decision comes as Europe continues to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Russia has lost almost all of its European customers, particularly after the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
In 2023, 65% of gas supplies for Austria, Hungary and Slovakia would pass through Ukraine, according to the International Energy Agency.
Hungary criticizes European sanctions
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has once again denounced EU sanctions against Russia, saying they keep energy prices high, harming the European Union’s competitiveness. Orbán pointed out that American companies pay four times less for their energy than their European counterparts.
Hungary remains heavily dependent on Russia for its energy, importing 80-85% of its gas and 80% of its oil from Moscow.
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Austria, energy dependence, Energy, Europe, natural gas, Gazprom, OMV, Russia, sanctions, Ukraine, Viktor Orban
