Poland said yesterday it was receiving 20 per cent less gas than normal from Russia and a German gas operator said its supplies of Russian gas were slightly reduced.
Some European officials believe Moscow could use disruptions to the gas deliveries on which Europe depends as its trump card in a confrontation over Ukraine that has already brought ties between Moscow and the West to their lowest since the Cold War.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom issued a statement saying it was pumping gas to all destinations “according to the resources available for exports and for the continuing pumping to storage facilities in the Russian Federation”.
But Gazprom did not deny the levels of supply this week to Poland – a former Communist country with which Moscow’s relations have chilled – were lower than they were previously.
The disruption comes as the European Union prepares to impose a new round of sanctions on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, a step that Russian officials had warned would bring consequences for Europe.
“This is a warning signal for the EU not to go any further with the sanctions,” said Pawel Poprawa of the Institute for Energy Studies in Warsaw, when asked about the reduced gas supplies to Poland.
Polish gas pipeline operator Gaz-System said the reduction in supplies from Russia had forced it temporarily to stop re-exporting natural gas to Ukraine.
This is a warning signal for the EU not to go any further with the sanctions
Gazprom has halted supplies to Western-leaning Ukraine over a pricing dispute, and the “reverse flows” from neighbouring EU states are crucial for keeping Ukraine’s economy afloat.
Russia meets around a third of European gas demand, sending almost half of these supplies via Ukraine.
Most of the rest goes through the Yamal Europe route via Poland and on to Germany as well as through the Nord Stream pipeline, which goes directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The disruption appeared to affect the Yamal Europe route only, with no significant reduction reported in volumes being shipped along other routes.
Polish gas monopoly PGNiG said that on Monday it received around 20 per cent less gas than contracted and around 24 percent less on Tuesday. It said customers had not been affected for now, and the missing volumes were being met from other sources. The company, in a statement, said it was seeking clarification on why the volumes were reduced.
Germany’s biggest utility, E.ON is facing slightly reduced gas supplies from Russia, a spokesman for the company said yesterday.
“This is not alarming due to well-stocked reserves and sufficient availability on hubs,” the spokesman said.