Austria breaks off half a century of cooperation with Gazprom due to gas seizure: what happened
26 November 09:06
The Austrian energy company OMV, which has been cooperating with Russia’s Gazprom for more than 50 years, has announced that it will stop purchasing Russian gas. The reason for this step was an arbitration dispute between the parties, as a result of which OMV confiscated Russian gas worth 230 million euros as compensation for Gazprom’s unfulfilled obligations. This was reported by Reuters, according to Komersant ukrainskyi.
Conflict and the end of a long-lasting cooperation
on November 13, OMV won an arbitration in Germany against Gazprom, securing a payment of 230 million euros. This dispute concerned disruptions in gas supplies to OMV’s German subsidiary in 2022, when Nord Stream was destroyed. To implement the court’s decision, the Austrian company credited Russian gas scheduled for October as payment for compensation.
Three days later, Gazprom cut off gas supplies to OMV, calling the Austrians’ actions non-payment. This was the first time that an EU customer had not actually paid for Russian gas supplies, according to a source close to Gazprom.
OMV was one of the few European customers to continue purchasing Russian gas after the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. The contract with Gazprom, signed until 2040, provided for mandatory payments even if the contracted volumes of gas were not consumed.
This step allows OMV to claim that Gazprom has violated its contractual obligations and potentially facilitate the final withdrawal from long-term agreements. OMV representatives noted that they do not expect any changes in the situation.
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Geopolitical context
Austria has long remained one of Gazprom’s most reliable customers, even as most EU countries have switched to imports from other sources, such as Norway or the United States. However, since the outbreak of the war, Austria, which remains politically neutral, has begun to gradually reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
According to the sources, the Austrian company still receives Russian gas through Slovakia, where Gazprom’s volumes are resold by the local supplier SPP.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Negammer said that Moscow uses energy resources as a weapon and called for the creation of conditions for OMV to withdraw from contracts with Gazprom. Energy Minister Leonore Gevessler emphasized that the decision on contracts should be made by the company itself, and the government will support this process.
Thus, OMV’s decision to stop purchasing Russian gas marks the end of an era of long-term cooperation between Austria and Russia in the energy sector. This is not only an economic but also a political signal that may affect future relations between the two countries.
