Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom is turning off its supply to Austria after Austria said it wouldn’t pay anymore until it had received 230 million euros worth of gas, following an arbitration ruling with Austria's energy company OMV who is owed this sum from a dispute.
Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom will halt natural gas deliveries to Austria’s OMV utility starting early Saturday, according to Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. He says that Austria’s underground gas storage is full and the country has secured alternative, non-Russian supplies.
The cutoff follows OMV’s decision to stop payments to Gazprom for gas supplied to its Austrian division. This decision was made to offset a €230 million ($242 million) arbitration award OMV won after Gazprom cut gas deliveries to its German subsidiary.
Chancellor Nehammer, speaking at a press conference Friday, emphasized that Austria’s energy security is intact.
“No one will freeze this winter, no home will be cold. Our gas storage facilities are full, and we have sufficient capacity to obtain gas from other regions. We cannot be blackmailed,” he declared.
OMV announced the supply halt via a statement on the Central European Gas Hub website but declined further comment. Gazprom also has not responded.
Russia significantly reduced gas supplies to Europe in 2022, citing payment disputes. Gazprom had asked for payments to be in rubles. European leaders labeled this move as energy blackmail due to their support for Ukraine amidst Russia’s invasion. The supply cuts led to skyrocketing gas prices and record-high inflation, which peaked in October 2022 but has since eased.
European countries scrambled to secure alternative supplies, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. and Qatar. However, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary continue to receive Russian gas through a pipeline running via Ukraine. Ukraine has announced it will cease gas transit after January 1, 2025, leaving these countries to seek new suppliers.
Austria’s dependency on Russian gas remains high, accounting for as much as 98% of imports in December 2023, according to Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler. While the European Union has largely ended imports of Russian oil, it has not directly sanctioned Russian gas. The EU aims to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027 as part of its nonbinding targets.
Austria has a long history of reliance on Russian gas, dating back to 1968 when it became the first Western European country to import gas from the Soviet Union. In 2018, a deal extending gas supplies until 2040 was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Austria. The contract obligates OMV to pay for the gas whether it is delivered or not.
Minister Gewessler has initiated a commission to review the circumstances surrounding the contract and explore legal options for termination.
The U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has been banned from meeting members of the French government after not showing up at the Foreign Affa...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 24th of February, covering the latest developments you need to...
An investigation into a protest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel on 19 February, where President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was staying, has revealed ...
Global transportation company FedEx has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking a refund for President Donald Trump's emergen...
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the war is no longer defined by shock but by scale....
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the war is no longer defined by shock but by scale.
Iran has signed a secret €500 million arms deal with Russia to rebuild air defences, weakened during last year’s war with Israel, the Financial Times has reported. The agreement, signed in December in Moscow, will see Russia deliver 500 Verba launch units and 2,500 9M336 missiles over three years.
A “Victory will be ours” banner was hung on the Russian Embassy in Seoul, ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It remains on display despite a request from the South Korean Foreign Ministry on Sunday (22 February) for its removal, sparking widespread criticism.
Russia launched overnight drone and missile strikes across Ukraine, targeting energy infrastructure in multiple regions, Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday (22 February).
Italy said a fond farewell to the Winter Olympics on Sunday with an open-air ceremony in the ancient Verona Arena that celebrated art and sporting achievement at a Games lauded as a model for how to stage such events.
The United States and Iran will hold a new round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva on Thursday as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to reach a potential agreement, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Sunday.
Further Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday (26 February) as diplomacy resumes over Tehran’s nuclear programme following earlier mediation efforts. But will the talks move Iran-U.S. negotiations closer to a deal, and what should be expected from the meeting?
Mexican authorities said on Sunday that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho and head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was killed during a military operation in the western state of Jalisco.
The European Parliament’s trade chief has urged a temporary suspension of the EU–U.S. trade agreement approval, citing “tariff chaos” following President Donald Trump’s new 15% tariffs and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating his previous global tariff programme.
The U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has been banned from meeting members of the French government after not showing up at the Foreign Affairs ministry, where he had been summoned over comments on the killing of a French far-right activist last week, diplomatic sources said on Monday.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 24th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Global transportation company FedEx has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking a refund for President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs it paid under the overturned International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the war is no longer defined by shock but by scale.
The son of Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, pleaded not guilty on Monday (23 February) to murdering his parents at their Los Angeles home in December. Nick Reiner, 32, entered not guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree murder during an arraignment at Los Angeles County Superior Court.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment