Russia stopped supplying gas to Austria. Chancellor Nehammer assured that the country was ready for this

The Russian gas monopolist “Gazprom” has informed its sole partner in Austria, the OMV company, that it will stop supplying gas through the pipeline passing through the territory of Ukraine from November 16. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer assured that the country is ready for this.

"Austria has prepared well for the loss of Russian gas. Gas storage facilities are in place and supplies are reliable. The republic has a strategic reserve that can compensate for the shortage. We cannot be blackmailed!" he declared.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen also commented on the situation.

"Putin uses energy as a weapon again. He is trying to blackmail Austria and Europe by cutting gas supplies. We are ready for it and ready for winter. Gas storages in the EU are full. As I told Karl Nehammer yesterday, Europe is united in supporting Austria," she said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha also commented on the termination of the “Gazprom” gas supply to Austria. He is confident that the Austrian government will guarantee its countryʼs energy security and "refuse blackmail."

"The times when Europe relied on Russian gas are over. Now is the time to completely cut Russian energy profits — and war financing," he stressed.

This was preceded by an arbitration court ruling that “Gazprom Export” must pay damages of €230 million with interest to the Austrian gas company OMV due to irregular supplies and a complete stoppage of supplies to Germany in September 2022.

The company immediately expected a deterioration in relations with “Gazprom”, in particular, a complete stoppage of Russian gas supplies due to a court decision.

However, the company already had other sources of gas supply, in particular from Norway, and additional volumes of liquefied natural gas. Now the level of the companyʼs gas reserves is more than 90%. Therefore, OMV will be able to continue supplying gas to its customers, even in the face of a complete stoppage of supplies from the Russian Federation.

And yet, even despite the courtʼs decision, the cooperation between the Austrian and Russian companies, which existed since 1968, would end already in 2025: at the end of this year, the transit contract for the supply of Russian natural gas through a pipeline through Ukraine and Slovakia expires. And Ukraine has already declared that it will not extend the transit agreement with the Russian state-owned “Gazprom” in order to deprive Russia of the profits that finance the war against Ukraine.

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