Preparations for delivery outage
Authority: Austria is no longer dependent on Russian gas
Austria is one of the few countries in the EU that still receives a lot of gas from Russia. This could be over soon. That’s not a big problem, says one expert.
According to the regulatory authority E-Control, Austria is no longer dependent on the supply of gas from Russia. The country, which, in contrast to Germany and other EU countries, covered an average of 80 percent of its gas requirements from Russian sources this year, has now found other potential delivery routes, said the board of E-Control, Alfons Haber, to the dpa. “Even if Russia stops its deliveries, homes will not be cold this winter or next.” The filling level of the gas storage facilities is too high at over 90 percent and the supply of liquid gas via Germany and Italy is possible, said Haber.
Increasing uncertainty about gas deliveries from Russia
The uncertainty about Russian gas deliveries has recently increased again. The partially state-owned Austrian energy and chemicals group OMV has been awarded 230 million euros by an arbitration tribunal in a dispute with Russia’s Gazprom. Until this amount is reached, OMV considers the gas delivered from Russia to be paid for. In response to this, a complete stop of deliveries by Moscow is conceivable, OMV admitted. However, the company is well prepared for such a scenario.
The entire gas market in Austria would be affected by a stop, as OMV is Gazprom’s only contractual partner and accepts all deliveries at the Baumgarten junction on the Slovakian border. After deducting the needs of OMV and its industrial customers of around 30 percent of the gas volume, OMV sells the rest to other business partners who in turn serve the private sector.
Transit stop via Ukraine likely
Contracts between Kiev and Moscow for the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine expire in December. Analysts expect a temporary price increase of around ten percent, said Haber. However, the price effects are not comparable to those in 2022, when gas prices exploded after the start of the Ukraine war.
It is not particularly encouraging that the storage levy levied by Germany for gas routed to Austria will apparently not be abolished on January 1st as promised after the government coalition leaves, said Haber. “The corresponding amendment to the Energy Industry Act is on shaky ground.” Such a step would be important because the levy accounts for around seven percent of the gas price in Austria.
dpa
Source: Stern
