As of 16 November 2024, Russian giant Gazprom suspended its natural gas deliveries to OMV, after the Austrian company was awarded €230 million in an arbitration proceedings from the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) on Wednesday.

Gazprom informed Austria of its intentions to halt deliveries on Friday afternoon. In response, TTF gas prices reached its highest in almost a year, another proof that the European gas market is extremely sensitive to supply issues and geopolitical tensions. 

“The actions of Russia’s Gazprom today prove once again that Russia is not a partner,’ said the Austrian energy minister adding that “If we no longer receive supplies from Russia, we can no longer be blackmailed”.

However, gas deliveries through Ukraine were stable on Monday morning. “Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, the same volume as on Sunday,” informed Reuters this morning. 

Meanwhile, the gas volumes arriving at the Baumgarten hub, one of the largest in Europe which receives mainly Russian gas, are “currently reduced by twelve to 15 percent,” said to E-Control, Austrian regulatory authority, quoted by Table.Media. 

According to Katja Yafimava from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, quoted by Bloomberg, Russian gas is still delivered under long-term contracts. “It could be sold by anyone who – unlike OMV – is still receiving gas from Gazprom. In turn, anyone could buy it, including OMV.” This new market dynamic is confirmed by Leo Lehr at Austria’s E-Control. “Russian gas will continue to end up in Austria without an import ban”