Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine said on Monday that its natural gas supply was assured even if the Russian group Gazprom completely stopped its deliveries to Austria.
Gazprom on Saturday halted deliveries to Austrian energy company OMV after the latter won an arbitration case against Gazprom awarding it more than 230 million euros ($244 million) in damages and said She would recover this money by not paying Gazprom's invoices.
However, Gazprom's deliveries to Austria via a pipeline crossing Ukraine and Slovakia continued. Flows to Austria fell by less than a fifth.
“Our suppliers have assured us that we will receive the contractually agreed gas volumes, even in the event of a possible interruption of supply by Gazprom Export,” Voestalpine said in a statement in response to a Reuters question about the security of supply.
Voestalpine is one of the largest gas consumers in Austria, as steelmaking is an energy-intensive activity.
“In addition, Voestalpine procures gas directly from various international sources and can also use the natural gas storage facility built in 2022, which alone will cover our entire current needs for at least 3-4 months “, added the company, referring to its own reserves.
Austria has long been heavily dependent on Russian gas. The country pledged to end the habit shortly after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It says it is now prepared to deal with the end of Russian gas deliveries, thanks to major gas storage facilities 93% full and other sources capable of filling any supply gap.
At the same time, it continues to obtain gas supplies from Russia. In September, the latest month for which data is available, 86% of imports came from Russia, according to the government energy portal.
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