Delivery will be interrupted from May 31 to the Dutch kingdom for not paying in rubles, Putin’s demand after the sanctions. Russia has already cut supplies to Poland, Bulgaria and neighboring Finland
Several valves near a drilling point at a gas facility operated by Russia’s Gazprom at the Bovanenkovo field, on the Arctic peninsula of Yamal, Russia (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)
The Russian hydrocarbon giant Gazprom will suspend deliveries from Tuesday Dutch state-owned energy provider GasTerra for refusing to pay in rubles, the Dutch company announced on Monday.
“Gazprom announced that it will interrupt supply from May 31, 2022,” GasTerra said in a statement, underlining that “it anticipated buying elsewhere.”
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Western countries imposed a series of sanctions on Moscow. Consequently, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that buyers of Russian gas from “unfriendly” countries will pay in rubles from accounts in Russia or risk running out of supply.
“GasTerra repeatedly asked Gazprom to respect the contractually agreed payment structure and delivery obligations, unfortunately to no avail” , explained the company.
“GasTerra is not in accordance with these payment requirements”, it added. The company believes that they present “a risk of violation of the sanctions elaborated by the EU”, but also “operational financial risks”.
The Russian energy giant’s decision means that 2 billion cubic meters of gas will not be delivered to the Netherlands by October, GasTerra stated.
Russia has already cut off supplies to Poland, Bulgaria and neighboring Finland (REUTERS)
GasTerra is jointly owned by energy giants Shell and Esso, the Dutch gas company EBN and the Dutch state, which has a 10% stake.
The government “understands” GasTerra’s decision not to comply with Gazprom’s “unilateral” request.
“This decision has no impact on the physical supply of gas to Dutch households,” said Dutch Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten on Twitter.
On the other hand, the Danish energy company Orsted warned on Monday that Russia could cut off gas supplies after the company refused to pay for it in rubles, although it could be supplied on the European market.< /p>
“Gazprom Export continues to ask Orsted to pay for the supply in rubles,” the company said in a statement.
But they reaffirm that “we have no legal obligation under the contract, and we have informed Gazprom Export that we will not do so”.
“However , there is a risk that Gazprom Export will stop supplying gas to Orsted. Which, from Orsted’s point of view, would be a breach of contract,” he added.
Vladimir Putin demanded that buyers of Russian gas from countries “ no friends” pay in rubles from accounts in Russia or risk running out of supplies (Sputnik/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Orsted insisted that, as of the May 31 deadline, you will continue to pay for Russian deliveries in euros.
Russia has already cut off supplies to Poland, Bulgaria and neighboring Finland.
As Denmark does not have any direct gas pipelines with Russia, the company explained that it would be able to continue buying Russian gas on the market
“We support Orsted’s decision”, said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Brussels, where European Union leaders met to overcome divisions and reach an agreement for the embargo on Russian gas imports
Orsted also explained that he was filling his reserves at facilities in Denmark and Germany to guarantee supply to his clients.
According to the Danish energy agency, gas accounts for 18% of the country’s energy consumption in a year. In 2019, three quarters of this gas was extracted in the country.
(With information from AFP)