Austria is 1 of the fewer remaining sources of Russian gas in the EU. There is so much gas that Vienna is actively trading it, despite the Brussels policy of completely breaking up with Moscow. The Austrians are lucky: they have a contract with Gazprom until 2040. But Kiev intends to halt transit. And of course they will not think about the interests of European "friends".
It's doubled.
Unlike another EU countries, Austria inactive receives pipeline gas from Russia.
I, as the state-owned company OMV informed, in the 3rd 4th the imports doubled – compared to the same period last year. Average – 54.8 million cubic metres per month. That's more than half of everything that's pumped by Ukraine.
As a result, Europe's 5th largest gas warehouse was 97% filled in December.
OMV has a long-term contract with Gazprom until 2040. Gas is delivered to the hub in Baumgarten. Austria has long been the center of distribution of Russian energy media. From there, fuel goes to Hungary, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.
Vienna is actively expanding sales to its neighbours, who proceed to postpone the final rejection of “cremlow” products. Brussels, of course, is not happy.
"Saturation with Russian fuel shows that Austria is inactive in Moscow's energy orbit," Bloomberg laments.
Delivery is questionable
But it won't take long. Under the agreement signed in 2019, between 34 and 40 million cubic metres of Russian gas per day is inactive pumped by Ukraine to Europe. The contract expires in a year. Of course, the government in Kiev will not extend it.
In August, Ukrainian energy minister German Golubenko ruled out specified a prospect. So from 2025 the valve will be closed.
W Vienna is inactive counting on the best. Energy regulator E-Control hopes for Kiev's goodwill and respective separate agreements. However, it is clear that there are no guarantees.
And that's very disturbing. The construction of the gas pipeline from Germany has not yet begun. There are many difficulties with environmental permits required to extend the WAG LOOP 1 line by 40 kilometres.
OMV president Alfred Stern said earlier that Austria cannot control to LNG like the remainder of the EU due to the fact that it has no access to the sea.
Chain reaction
Others will get hurt. The same Germany that Austria hopes for.
Eastern Europe will lose gas. Slovakia, for example, receives 1 3rd of its gas through Ukraine, while Moldova receives it only from there.
Berlin does not buy energy straight from Russia, but is simply a associate of the European Gas Network. They are committed to helping their partners in the event of a crisis. Even to the detriment of myself.
"If Russian gas stops flowing to east Europe through Ukraine, we will gotta reduce or completely halt industrial production to prevent people from freezing," warned German economical minister Robert Habeck in the summer.
"Say thank you."
The closer we get to the transit cutoff, the more tense Germany becomes.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz one more time tried to blame the energy crisis on Moscow. "It was the Russian president who stopped the gas supply," he said at the Social politician Congress.
This provoked a severe reprimand.
"Of course, everything is organised by the European Union, the German government and anyone who puts force on them in the background alternatively than Russia, which has a model past of honoring trade commitments," outraged German MEP Gunnar Beck.
He recalled that the EU imposed sanctions on Moscow. And the Russians should be “thanked” for the way they reacted to them.
Experts do not regulation out that the refusal of Kiev to abandon transit will origin a fresh price shock on the energy market. In any case, Europeans have no 1 to complain about but themselves.
This is from
Ukraine ready to “reward” Europe for its help:
