The Russian company Gazprom suspended deliveries on Saturday morning (November 16). gas for Austria. “What we have been preparing for since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine has happened,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced on social media. OMV announced the expected shutdown on Friday (November 15) evening.
Gazprom cuts off Austria from supplies. “We will not be blackmailed”
A few days earlier (November 13), OMV won against Gazprom in an international arbitration due to undelivered deliveries of blue fuel. OMV ruled that it would not pay another bill towards the receivables. The company expected that the Russians would turn off the tap in retaliation. “We cannot allow ourselves to be blackmailed,” the chancellor repeated on social media.
He assured that “Austria is well prepared for the lack of Russian gas“, among others, thanks to operational warehouses, secured with supplies and a strategic reserve, which will compensate for the shortages. It is reported that the storage level is at 93%, i.e. 94.5 TWh.
“This is more than annual supplies for all of Austria,” argued Karl Nehammer.
In addition, all gas suppliers were legally obliged to develop preventive concepts to be as best prepared as possible for this day. “I can promise: no one will freeze in winter, none apartment it won't be cold. Precautions are in place: our gas storage facilities are full and from tomorrow we will receive sufficient gas from other sources,” the Chancellor argued.
Austria was one of the last. “An era is ending”
The Viennese have gas. It is supplied to the inhabitants of the Austrian capital and the entire agglomeration by the Wien Energie company, which has managed to become independent from Russian raw material. From 2022, it purchased gas from North African countries, and the last one winter 30 percent of the raw material came from Norway. In September, the company signed a contract for deliveries from other European countries. Austria is one of the last European Union countries that still obtains gas from Russia. In August, 82 percent of supplies came from there.
“By cutting off Austria's access to gas, Russia once again uses energy as a weapon. However, the Austrian government will undoubtedly take care of energy security and reject blackmail. The era of Europe relying on Russian gas is over. It's time to completely curb Russia's energy gains and war financing.” he wrote on social media Andriy Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine