Gazprom cuts gas supplies to at least one major customer in Europe
Russian company declares force majeure for supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline
18 July 2022 - 16:14
byJulia Payne
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Russia’s Gazprom has declared force majeure on gas supplies to Europe to at least one major customer, according to the letter from Gazprom dated July 14 and seen by Reuters on Monday.
The letter said Gazprom, which has a monopoly on Russian gas exports by pipeline, could not fulfil its supply obligations owing to “extraordinary” circumstances outside its control.
It said the force majeure measure, a clause invoked when a business is hit by something beyond its control, was effective for deliveries from July 14.
A trading source said the letter concerned supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a major supply route to Germany and beyond.
Gazprom had no immediate comment.
The measure is likely to worsen tension between Russia and the West over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The EU, which has imposed sanctions on Moscow, aims to stop using Russian fossil fuels by 2027 but wants supplies to continue for now as it shifts away from Russian sources.
Russian gas supplies have dropped via major routes, including via Ukraine and Belarus and through Nord Stream 1 under the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 1 is undergoing maintenance.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Gazprom cuts gas supplies to at least one major customer in Europe
Russian company declares force majeure for supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline
Russia’s Gazprom has declared force majeure on gas supplies to Europe to at least one major customer, according to the letter from Gazprom dated July 14 and seen by Reuters on Monday.
The letter said Gazprom, which has a monopoly on Russian gas exports by pipeline, could not fulfil its supply obligations owing to “extraordinary” circumstances outside its control.
It said the force majeure measure, a clause invoked when a business is hit by something beyond its control, was effective for deliveries from July 14.
A trading source said the letter concerned supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a major supply route to Germany and beyond.
Gazprom had no immediate comment.
The measure is likely to worsen tension between Russia and the West over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The EU, which has imposed sanctions on Moscow, aims to stop using Russian fossil fuels by 2027 but wants supplies to continue for now as it shifts away from Russian sources.
Russian gas supplies have dropped via major routes, including via Ukraine and Belarus and through Nord Stream 1 under the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 1 is undergoing maintenance.
Reuters
PETER APPS: Sri Lanka may be first to suffer from energy crisis due to Ukraine war
Russia said to have targeted civilians in strike on Donbas apartment block
Gazprom proposes adding LNG to rouble-for-gas scheme
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Putin’s decree could sideline foreign firms in Sakhalin Energy venture
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.