Against the backdrop of a stop in Russian gas supplies through Ukraine, Austrian Minister for Climate and Energy Gewessler said that her country is no longer dependent on Russian gas – “and that’s good.”
Ukraine made it clear in advance that it would not renew the transit contract with the aggressor Russia. “We did our homework and were well prepared for such a scenario,” the minister said.
It is also reported that in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent energy crisis, the Austrian federal government purchased and stored almost 20 terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas as a strategic reserve. In 2023, Austria consumed almost 76 TWh of gas. Domestic gas storage facilities are 79% full, amounting to just over 80 TWh, and up to 185 TWh per year can be imported via Germany and Italy.
Let us remind you that the Russian Gazprom began stopping supplies through Ukraine on January 1. Ukrainian transit will drop to zero because the five-year contract between Russia and Ukraine will expire.
This will mark an almost complete loss of Moscow’s once powerful influence on the European gas market.
According to Reuters estimates, Ukraine will lose about $800 million a year in transit revenues, while Gazprom will lose about $5 billion from gas sales.
The cessation of Ukrainian transit will hit Moldova the hardest. Other buyers of Russian gas, such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria, have organized alternative supply routes.
The European Commission said the day before that they were ready to stop transit through Ukraine. Analysts imply minimal impact on the market from the cessation of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine.
Experts do not expect a repeat of the price jump in 2022, since gas volumes from Russia on the EU market are now many times smaller.
On the morning of December 31, at Europe’s largest gas hub TTF in the Netherlands, gas prices under short-term agreements increased slightly. Its cost under supply contracts in the coming month increased by 0.8% to 48.32 euros/MWh.
In the UK, gas prices under day-ahead contracts rose by 2.5% to 120.45 pence per therm, the highest since December 3.
Meanwhile, Reuters cites expectations of cold weather in North-Western Europe as the main reason for this change, and puts the cessation of Ukrainian transit only in second place.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.