Russian gas flows to Europe despite fighting
Regulators, companies, operators say no disruptions so far
Austrian regulator says gas can be replaced but at higher cost
Ministry says dependence on Russian gas carries high risk
Adds new statement from E-Control in paragraph 6, energy ministry source in paras 8-9, bullet points
By Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich, Jan Lopatka and Nina Chestney
VIENNA/PRAGUE, Aug 13 (Reuters) -Intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces near a pipeline Russia uses to supply European countries with gas has not disrupted supplies, network operators and gas companies said on Tuesday.
The European Union drastically reduced its reliance on Russian gas after the Ukraine war began in 2022, leaving Austriathe EU country most reliant on Russian supplies.
"We are not aware of any pressure fluctuations, all nominations are going according to plan and there are no indications of any irregularities," Gas Connect Austria spokesperson Armin Teichert said.
Russia's Gazprom also said on Tuesday it was still pumping gas to Ukraine through Sudzha, just over the border from Ukraine.
It was unclear which side was in control of the Russian town of Sudzha, through which Russia pumps gas from Western Siberia through Ukraine and on to Slovakia and other European Union countries.
"From today's perspective, no supply problems are expected in Austria, as storage levels are high and Russian gas could be substituted via Germany or Italy. However, if supply were to be interrupted immediately, Austria would be burdened economically, in particular by the German gas storage levy," a statement from Austrian energy regulator E-Control said.
A levy on German gas storage has been increasing since 2022 which makes Austrian gas imports via Germany around three times more expensive than those via Slovakia, analysts at Kpler Insight said.
An Austrian energy ministry source told Reuters that it has been taking action to reduce dependency on Russian gas in the long run over the past two years.
"As long as there is a dependency on Russian gas supplies, there is a massive risk of a corresponding supply failure with far-reaching consequences," the source added.
Most recipients of gas via Ukraine have said they have been preparing for the stoppage of flows at the end of this year anyway when a transit deal between Ukraine and Russia expires as Ukraine has said it does not want to renew it.
Eight entry points connect Ukraine with Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Hungary, through which Russian flows can reach the EU. Currently, two are used - at Polish and Slovakian interconnection points - and then the volumes can be transmitted to other countries in central and eastern Europe, according to Kpler Insight analysts.
They estimate that Slovakia's implied use of Ukrainian flows were nearly 80% in 2023.
"This dependency could increase if inflows from Hungary decrease and a cold winter occurs as no Russian gas would be available for refilling storage levels," they said.
Slovak gas company SPP said it has been preparing for the risk of a halt in Russian gas supply for several years and has commercial contracts in place with non-Russian suppliers.
Hungary gets around 1 billion cubic metres of Russian gas a year via a pipeline from Austria and a spokesperson at the Hungarian pipeline operator said gas was still flowing.
EXPLAINER-What happens if Russian gas transit via Ukraine stops? nL8N3JV0SH
FACTBOX-How Russia exports gas to Europe via Ukraine? nL8N3JV0UK
Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich, Jan Lopatka and Anita Komuves; writing by Nina Chestney, Editing by Barbara Lewis and David Evans, Kirsten Donovan
Actifs liés
Dernières actualités
Avertissement : Les entités de XM Group proposent à notre plateforme de trading en ligne un service d'exécution uniquement, autorisant une personne à consulter et/ou à utiliser le contenu disponible sur ou via le site internet, qui n'a pas pour but de modifier ou d'élargir cette situation. De tels accès et utilisation sont toujours soumis aux : (i) Conditions générales ; (ii) Avertissements sur les risques et (iii) Avertissement complet. Un tel contenu n'est par conséquent fourni que pour information générale. En particulier, sachez que les contenus de notre plateforme de trading en ligne ne sont ni une sollicitation ni une offre de participation à toute transaction sur les marchés financiers. Le trading sur les marchés financiers implique un niveau significatif de risques pour votre capital.
Tout le matériel publié dans notre Centre de trading en ligne est destiné à des fins de formation / d'information uniquement et ne contient pas – et ne doit pas être considéré comme contenant – des conseils et recommandations en matière de finance, de fiscalité des investissements ou de trading, ou un enregistrement de nos prix de trading ou une offre, une sollicitation, une transaction à propos de tout instrument financier ou bien des promotions financières non sollicitées à votre égard.
Tout contenu tiers, de même que le contenu préparé par XM, tels que les opinions, actualités, études, analyses, prix, autres informations ou liens vers des sites tiers contenus sur ce site internet sont fournis "tels quels", comme commentaires généraux sur le marché et ne constituent pas des conseils en investissement. Dans la mesure où tout contenu est considéré comme de la recherche en investissement, vous devez noter et accepter que le contenu n'a pas été conçu ni préparé conformément aux exigences légales visant à promouvoir l'indépendance de la recherche en investissement et, en tant que tel, il serait considéré comme une communication marketing selon les lois et réglementations applicables. Veuillez vous assurer que vous avez lu et compris notre Avis sur la recherche en investissement non indépendante et notre avertissement sur les risques concernant les informations susdites, qui peuvent consultés ici.
