[News] Russia's Gazprom halts gas supplies to Poland

 


Russia's Gazprom will halt gas shipments to Poland via the Yamal pipeline from Wednesday, Poland's PGNiG gas firm said in a statement on Tuesday.


"On April 26, 2022, Gazprom informed PGNiG of its intention to completely suspend deliveries under the Yamal contract... on April 27," PGNiG said.


The operator said that Poland was prepared to obtain necessary supplies from other sources.


"All deliveries to customers are being made according to their demand," the company said.


The Polish government also said it was ready to face any interruption of supply from Russia.


"There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes," Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said on Twitter.


"Since the first day of the war we have declared that we are ready for full independence from Russian raw materials," she said.


"Poland has the necessary gas reserves and sources of supply to protect our security. For years we have been successfully making ourselves independent from Russia," she added.


Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said gas storage facilities were 76 percent full and Poland was ready to "obtain gas from all possible other directions".


Gazprom did not confirm the cut-off but a senior executive at the company was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that "Poland must pay for gas supplies according to the new payment procedure".


Following the introduction of sanctions against Russia over its assault on Ukraine, the Kremlin has warned EU member states that their gas supplies will be cut unless they paid in roubles.


Western countries have refused to do so, saying that they can continue to pay in euros or dollars.


The EU as a whole received around 40 percent of its gas supplies from Russia in 2021.


Poland imports liquefied gas through a terminal on the Baltic coast and is also hoping to receive supplies from Norway via the Baltic Pipe project which is expected to be completed later this year.


The 900-kilometre link should eventually cover around 50 percent of Poland's consumption. (AFP)

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