Russian gas is still reaching Austria, despite Gazprom cutting off supplies to Austria’s top importer, OMV, over the weekend due to a contractual dispute. According to data flows, gas continued to flow through the pipeline system to Austria on Monday.
On Saturday, Gazprom halted deliveries to OMV after the Austrian company threatened to seize some of its gas as compensation for an arbitration victory regarding a contractual issue. Despite the cut-off, the overall daily gas supply to Europe via Ukraine has remained stable, at levels similar to normal.
The pipeline through Ukraine, known as the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline, remains one of the few remaining routes for Russian gas into the EU. However, it is expected to close by the end of the year, as Kyiv has stated it will not extend its transit contract with Gazprom. Before the supply cut, Austria had been receiving 17 million cubic meters (mcm) of Russian gas per day, with those volumes now being redirected to other European buyers. Russian gas remains cheaper than other alternatives in many cases.
Flows through the pipeline from Slovakia to Austria were averaging around 27 mcm/day before the cut-off, but after Gazprom stopped deliveries to OMV, those volumes dropped by about 17%, falling to 22.6 mcm/day on Sunday, according to preliminary data from Slovakia’s transmission operator, Eustream. Planned shipments for Monday are for 22.3 mcm, and early data shows about half of that amount had already been delivered by the afternoon. Requests for Tuesday indicate a slight increase in flows, by about 6%.
While it’s unclear who is purchasing the redirected gas, sources indicated that middlemen or new buyers across Europe are stepping in to absorb the unsold volumes previously earmarked for OMV. In addition to Austria, significant amounts of Russian gas are still being delivered to Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, with smaller volumes also going to Italy and Serbia.
Slovakia’s state-owned gas company, SPP, which holds a long-term contract with Gazprom, declined to comment on whether it was purchasing any of the gas previously designated for OMV.
