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Austria’s energy firm OMV has seized $241 million (230 million euros) of Gazprom natural gas deliveries for October as a means to recover the arbitration award, which prompted Gazprom to cut off supply, sources close to OMV and Gazprom have told Reuters.
Earlier this month, OMV said that it had been awarded 230 million euros, plus interest and costs, in an arbitration case against Gazprom’s irregular German gas supplies and would take “the necessary next steps to enforce the arbitral award with immediate effect.”
In light of the arbitration award, OMV warned that “It is expected that there may be a deterioration of the contractual relationship under the Austrian supply contract of OGMT with Gazprom Export, including a potential halt of gas supply.”
Indeed, Gazprom halted supply to OMV on November 16.
OMV had impounded 230 million euros worth of gas deliveries from Gazprom for October in lieu of the arbitration award, sources close to the two companies told Reuters.
The Austrian firm saw the seizure of the gas as its last chance to recover the arbitration award, in light of uncertainties about the future of remaining Russian supply to Europe after the gas transit deal via Ukraine ends on December 31, 2024, an OMV source told Reuters.
Gazprom, for its part, considered the impounding of the gas supply as a failure to pay for its gas and therefore it halted deliveries, according to a source close to Gazprom.
It was the first time an EU customer had failed to pay for Gazprom’s gas supply, the source told Reuters.
Yet, Russian natural gas flows to Europe via Ukraine have remained stable despite the fact that Gazprom cut off supply to OMV.
Gazprom has been sending about 42 million cubic meters of gas to Europe via Ukraine since it cut off supply to OMV, as supply to the remaining buyers in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic continues.
