Italian supplier Eni announced on Saturday night that there would also be no deliveries on Sunday. The situation is expected to remain the same through Monday, it said in a statement. Delivery is not possible “because Gazprom cannot transfer gas through Austria,” Eni said.
The new “year of gas” starts on October 1st and on this date new market regulations apply in Austria. According to the climate ministry in its statement, Gazprom had not signed the necessary contractual changes for this reason, so that no gas could flow through Austria. In a broadcast, Gazprom also points to regulatory changes in Austria as the cause of the problems and says that “the Austrian gas network operator refused to confirm the transport appointments”. Questioned by the APA, Austrian authority E-Control said the changes had been known for a long time. All sides ensure that a solution to the problems is being worked out.
Eni had previously announced that Russian gas supplies to the Mediterranean country had been suspended for the time being. Russian gas normally arrives and is distributed from the Italian-Austrian border town of Tarvisio (Tarvis) in Italy. However, Austrian experts claim that, for a week, more gas has been flowing from Italy to Austria than from Austria to Italy. More recently, Algerian gas was cheaper in Italy than in Russia.
For Austria, the new situation currently means better care. On the one hand, gas is currently coming from Italy to Austria. On the other hand, a larger proportion of the gas delivered from Russia to the Baumgarten (Lower Austria) distribution node remains in the country. OMV received significantly more quantities today than in the past, OMV spokesman Andreas Rinofner said Saturday at the request of the APA. It is not yet possible to say how things will continue on Sunday.
The Climate Ministry assured once again on Saturday that Austria’s security of supply was guaranteed. The gas storage facilities are currently 78.82 percent full (about 75 TWh). However, only part of the gas stored in Austria is destined for the domestic market. Austria has above average gas storage facilities, which are also used for customers in other countries.