Russian gas giant Gazprom announced on Tuesday 31 May that it was suspending gas deliveries to GasTerra, the main gas supplier to the Netherlands, due to the company’s refusal to comply with new Russian requirements to pay for its gas. The same decision was taken for the Danish gas company Orsted.
The requirements, set out in a decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 31 March, oblige importers of Russian gas from unfriendly countries to pay in roubles by opening two accounts at Gazprombank: one for payments in dollars or euros and another for converting these payments into roubles.
According to the statement issued by GasTerra, the interruption of Gazprom’s deliveries means that by 1 October 2022, when the contract ends, “approximately 2 billion m3of contracted gas will not be delivered”.
The company, which refuses to follow the Russian decree in order not to violate EU sanctions against Russia and because of the financial and operational risks associated with the required payment route, asserts that it anticipated this situation by purchasing gas from other suppliers.
It should be noted that Gazprom had already suspended deliveries to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria.
See the GasTerra press release: https://aeur.eu/f/1vj (DG)