Despite a contractual dispute, Austria continues to receive Russian gas through alternative channels.
On Saturday, Russia’s gas company, Gazprom, halted gas supplies to Austria’s main importer, OMV, after the company threatened to seize some of Gazprom’s gas as compensation for a legal case OMV won over. However, the European Union (EU) still receives stable supplies, with no significant disruption.
Before the conflict in Ukraine, EU relied heavily on Russian gas, but EU now sought alternative supplies from Norway, the Middle East, and the U.S. Some Russian gas is still delivered to the EU via a pipeline through Ukraine, although this may end at the year’s close as Ukraine does not wish to extend the contract with Gazprom.
Austria is among nations still buying this remaining gas, receiving 17 million cubic meters (mcm) per day until the cut-off. Despite this, Austria still received Russian gas via Slovakia, the nation where the pipeline from Russia ended.
Slovakia’s gas supply to Austria dropped by 17% from 27 mcm/day to 22.6 mcm/day following the supply halt, but Austria has requested 22.3 mcm of Slovakia’s gas for Monday, with a 6% increase expected Tuesday. Meanwhile, OMV, which previously received 17 mcm/day from Gazprom, is now seeking new suppliers in Europe.
In addition to Austria, Slovakia also supplied gas to the Czech Republic, which has increased shapely by 74%. Traders speculate that this gas could be surplus Russian gas that Slovakia has redirected. Despite this, the Czech Republic has opted for this gas over Western supplies due to its lower cost.
Beside German levy, which makes transit expensive, colder weather forecasts and a drop in Norwegian supply have contributed to volatility in Dutch and British wholesale gas prices. As of 16:18 GMT, the benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub rose to 46.90 euros per megawatt hour.
In addition, as of last Friday, the price of LNG (liquefied natural gas) scheduled for delivery to Northeast Asia this January increased from $13.60 to $14.20 per million British thermal units. Furthermore, five LNG cargoes originally destined for Asia have been diverted to Europe due to higher gas prices on the continent, a result of Gazprom’s halt in supplies to OMV.
