Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine says its gas supply is secure
VIENNA, Nov 18 (Reuters) -Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine VOES.VI said on Monday its natural gas supply is secure even if Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM stops deliveries to Austria altogether.
Gazprom on Saturday halted supplies to Austrian energy company OMV OMVV.VI after OMV won an arbitration case against Gazprom awarding it more than 230 million euros ($244 million) in damages and said it would recover that money by not paying Gazprom's invoices.
Gazprom's shipments to Austria via pipeline through Ukraine and Slovakia have continued, however. Flows into Austria are down by less than a fifth.
"We have received assurances from our suppliers that we will receive the contractually agreed gas volumes even in the event of a possible interruption in supply from Gazprom Export," Voestalpine said in a statement in response to a Reuters question about security of supply.
Voestalpine is one of Austria's biggest consumers of gas as steelmaking is energy-intensive.
"In addition, Voestalpine obtains gas directly from various international sources and can also make use of the natural gas storage facility built in 2022, which alone will cover our current requirements in full for at least 3-4 months," it added, referring to its own reserves.
Austria has long been heavily reliant on Russian gas. The country pledged to kick that habit soon after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It says it is now prepared for an end to Russian gas supplies, with large gas storage facilities that are 93% full and other sources able to fill any supply gap.
At the same time, it continues to obtain most of its gas from Russia. In September, the latest month for which data is available, 86% of imports came from Russia, according to the government's energy portal.
($1 = 0.9433 euro)
Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; Writing by Francois Murphy;
Editing by Marguerita Choy
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
