Russian gas giant Gazprom continues to supply steady amounts of gas to Europe via Ukraine, but supplies to Austrian energy company OMV were halted hours after Vienna said it had been notified by Russia of Moscow's decision to halt the flow of natural gas, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Today, Austrian energy regulator E-Control said gas supplies were halted by Gazprom at 6:00 a.m. this morning local time (5:00 a.m. GMT), but added that this had not caused a change in prices or a disruption in supplies to Austrian consumers.
OMV is seeking 230 million euros in damages from Gazprom for damages awarded to the Austrian company under an arbitration decision under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce. The Russian energy giant said it would deliver 42.4 million cubic meters of gas to Europe via Ukraine today, equal to the volumes delivered yesterday.
Flows to Slovakia remain stable, but this month's deliveries to Austria via Slovakia were about 16% below average, according to transmission system operator "Eurostream".
Before the war in Ukraine, Russia was Europe's largest supplier of natural gas, but it subsequently lost almost all of its customers due to calls in the EU to reduce dependence on Moscow and the explosion of the "Nord Stream" pipeline to Germany. in 2022.
Now the only route for transporting Russian natural gas to Europe remains the Soviet-era Urengoy-Pomari-Uzhgorod gas pipeline through Ukraine - but at the end of this year it will also cease to operate due to Kiev's reluctance to extend the five-year agreement for gas transit from North Siberian fields to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria. Deliveries to the Austrian company OMV usually make up about 40% of Russian gas flows passing through Ukraine.