Moscow wants the Russian gas monopoly to be paid in rubles in the future.
(Photo: AP)
Warsaw According to the government in Sofia, Russia no longer wants to supply natural gas to Poland, but also to Bulgaria as of Wednesday. The Energy Ministry confirmed on Tuesday evening that the Bulgarian natural gas utility Bulgargas had received a corresponding notification from Gazprom.
In the afternoon, the Polish natural gas company PGNiG announced that Russia no longer wanted to supply natural gas to Poland from Wednesday. Poland was also informed by the Russian natural gas company Gazprom.
PGNiG sees the decision as a breach of existing contracts. You want to claim damages for breach of contract. Usually no gas from Russia flows to Germany via the Yamal pipeline.
From Wednesday morning, 8:00 a.m., the gas will no longer flow through the Yamal pipeline to Poland, said Climate Minister Anna Moskwa. “We are prepared for a complete cessation of Russian raw material supplies.” Since the first days of the Ukraine war, her country has declared that it is ready for complete independence from Russian raw materials.
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The security of supply in Germany is currently still guaranteed, said a spokeswoman for Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) on Tuesday evening. “We are monitoring the situation closely.”
Polish Government Commissioner for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski assured that gas will continue to flow to Germany via Nord Stream 1. And all gas customers in Poland would continue to receive the raw material at the previous level.
Poland does not want to pay for natural gas in rubles, as Russia is demanding. For its part, the European Commission had asked gas importers in the EU to continue paying in the contractually agreed currency. In 97 percent of the cases it is the euro or the dollar.
On Tuesday, Poland also published a list of 50 oligarchs and companies, including Gazprom, against which punitive measures will be taken. The list is independent of the one that EU countries have agreed on.
“We received threats from Gazprom”
Regarding the gas supply in Poland, Moskwa emphasized that the storage facilities were 76 percent full. This is a result of the preparations: “Last year at this time the storage facilities were 39 percent full.” But there is no reason to open the storage facilities at this time.
Rather, efforts are being made to increase stocks to 99 percent with deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG). “The heating season is already behind us. That’s why we don’t have to talk about how long the supply will last in the storage facilities.” The ongoing demand is currently being met with LNG deliveries.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in Berlin on Tuesday after a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia might be trying to blackmail Poland in this way. However, Poland had prepared in advance for the diversification of the gas supply. The economy is not at risk.
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