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Requests from customers in Austria and Slovakia for Russian natural gas supply via Ukraine rose by 6% on Tuesday compared to Monday, even as Gazprom cut off supply to Austrian energy group OMV this weekend amid a contractual dispute.
Nominations from companies in Austria and Slovakia were still 12% below last week’s levels, which was prior to Russian gas giant Gazprom halting supply to OMV.
It was not immediately clear which customers in Austria are now buying the gas previously supplied to OMV, Reuters reports, citing figures from transmission system operator Eustream.
Separately, Gazprom has said its gas flows to Europe via Ukraine would be 42.4 million cubic meters on Tuesday, stable compared to Monday, according to Reuters.
The EU gas market has been on edge since OMV said last week it was awarded $242 million (230 million euros), plus interest and costs, in an arbitration case against Gazprom’s irregular German gas supplies and “takes 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 as of Saturday.
Despite this, the daily pipeline flows of Russia’s gas to Europe, including Austria, haven’t dramatically dropped, at least for now.
The European gas market is bracing itself for the end of the gas transit deal for Russian flows via Ukraine. The deal expires on December 31, 2024, and Ukraine has said that it would not pursue talks about renewing the agreement with Russia.
Last week, Slovakia’s national energy company, SPP, signed a short-term pilot contract with SOCAR to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan as it prepares for a possible halt to Russian supplies via Ukraine.
