Austria to receive less Russian gas as Moscow steps up pressure
Austria's OMV energy company said on Thursday that it too would receive less Russian gas as Moscow steps up pressure on Europe.
Russia on Wednesday slashed gas supplies to the continent for the second day in a row, in a move blasted as "political" by Germany.
"We can confirm that we have been informed by (Russia's) Gazprom about reduced delivery volumes," said OMV in a statement emailed to AFP.
The company said supply to its customers was "ensured at the moment".
READ ALSO: REVEALED: What is Austria’s emergency plan if Russia cuts gas supply?
"If necessary at all, since there is currently a significantly lower demand, these volumes can be replaced by storage volumes and volumes from the spot market," it said.
OMV gave no further details on how much less gas it would receive and from when.
Several European countries, including Germany, are highly reliant upon Russian gas for their energy needs.
But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, they have been battling to wean themselves off Russian power.
Austria's gas plan
Austria is heavily dependent on Russian energy and sources around 80 percent of natural gas from Russia but a recent study by the Energy Agency shows that Austria could manage without Russian gas from 2027.
According to the study, which was commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment, it would require gas consumption to the reduced by 25 percent, a temporary tripling of alternative gas imports and the expansion of biogas and green hydrogen production in Austria.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How reliant is Austria on Russia for energy?
Last month, the federal government unveiled an emergency plan that would be activated if Russia cut its supply to the country, as The Local reported.
The plan contains mostly long-term measures, though, such as an increase of the strategic gas reserve by 7.4 terawatt hours (TWh) to 20 TWh using non-Russian gas.
In the short term, the federal government said existing gas supply relationships with Norway are to be expanded and discussions are being held with companies in North Africa and Qatar. Austria is also part of an EU-wide initiative for the joint purchase of natural gas.
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Russia on Wednesday slashed gas supplies to the continent for the second day in a row, in a move blasted as "political" by Germany.
"We can confirm that we have been informed by (Russia's) Gazprom about reduced delivery volumes," said OMV in a statement emailed to AFP.
The company said supply to its customers was "ensured at the moment".
READ ALSO: REVEALED: What is Austria’s emergency plan if Russia cuts gas supply?
"If necessary at all, since there is currently a significantly lower demand, these volumes can be replaced by storage volumes and volumes from the spot market," it said.
OMV gave no further details on how much less gas it would receive and from when.
Several European countries, including Germany, are highly reliant upon Russian gas for their energy needs.
But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, they have been battling to wean themselves off Russian power.
Austria's gas plan
Austria is heavily dependent on Russian energy and sources around 80 percent of natural gas from Russia but a recent study by the Energy Agency shows that Austria could manage without Russian gas from 2027.
According to the study, which was commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment, it would require gas consumption to the reduced by 25 percent, a temporary tripling of alternative gas imports and the expansion of biogas and green hydrogen production in Austria.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How reliant is Austria on Russia for energy?
Last month, the federal government unveiled an emergency plan that would be activated if Russia cut its supply to the country, as The Local reported.
The plan contains mostly long-term measures, though, such as an increase of the strategic gas reserve by 7.4 terawatt hours (TWh) to 20 TWh using non-Russian gas.
In the short term, the federal government said existing gas supply relationships with Norway are to be expanded and discussions are being held with companies in North Africa and Qatar. Austria is also part of an EU-wide initiative for the joint purchase of natural gas.
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