Austria is looking for ways to end the contract for Russian gas imports - Energy Minister

Faced with consistently high imports of Russian gas amid Russia's war against Ukraine, Austria is seeking to take more radical steps, including the termination of OMV's long-term contract to buy gas from Gazprom, Austrian Energy Minister Leonora Gevessler said on Monday, UNN reports citing Reuters.

Details

As the publication points out, having long sought to maintain close ties with Russia, Austria sought to end its decades-long dependence on affordable Russian gas shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, trying to find alternative suppliers.

While political leaders such as Energy Minister Leonora Gevessler of the Green Party repeat that Moscow is no longer a reliable partner, the partially state-owned oil company OMV is breaking new ground, making it clear that it will continue to buy gas from Gazprom under a contract that runs until 2040, the newspaper writes.

At a press conference convened the day before, Gevessler said that the Russian share of Austria's gas imports actually rose in December to a new record of 98% from 76% a month earlier, even if total imports were down slightly.

"The market and the energy companies that are part of it are not fulfilling their obligations to reduce dependence on Russian gas sufficiently," Gevessler said. - "The diversification of our gas imports is moving too slowly.

Gewessler said that her ministry has commissioned the economic think tank Wifo to prepare a study by the summer on the economic consequences of the contract termination and the dangers of continuing to depend on Russian gas.

"We have to prepare for the exit from OMV's long-term contracts," she said.

OMV did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Energy Ministry also planned to oblige companies selling gas in Austria to take concrete steps to reduce the share of Russian gas in their structure. According to her, it will consider the legal basis for such a requirement, which would require a two-thirds majority in parliament to become law.

Addendum

It is unclear to what extent the left-wing Greens' coalition partner, Chancellor Carl Neumann's conservative People's Party, was involved in the plans announced on Monday. Parliamentary elections will be held this fall, and the far-right Freedom Party is leading in polls, the newspaper said.