Since Gazprom threatened to cut off all gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria, both countries have refused to bow down to Russian threats
Poland and Bulgaria have said that they can survive without Russian gas after the Russian energy giant – Gazprom threatened them to cut off all gas deliveries to if they refuse to pay for the supplies in Russian Rubles.
Earlier, both Polish and Bulgarian energy providers said they had received official notices from the Russian gas supplier that deliveries were due to be cut. This comes in the wake of rising tensions between Russia and the West after Russian troops invaded Ukraine. In retaliation, the European Union (E.U.), United Kingdom (U.K.) and United States (U.S.) unleashed a plethora of financial sanctions on Russia, making it difficult for them to deal in international currencies.
The Polish State Gas Company or PGNiG bought 53% of its gas imports from Gazprom in the first quarter of 2022. As per the data from the E.U. network of gas transmission operators, Poland’s supply was briefly cut today, i.e., Wednesday, April 27, 2022 but was shortly resumed. Poland described the suspension of gas supplies as a breach of contract and that the company would take steps to reinstate the gas supply.
Both the countries have refused to bow down to Russian threats. Poland has said it will manage without Russian gas supplies. Bulgaria, which procures 90% of its gas supplies from Russia is also eyeing alternatives to Russian gas. The Minister of Energy, Bulgaria – Alexander Nikolov said that Bulgaria had fulfilled its obligations under the current contract with Gazprom and made all required payments. He also said that the new payment conditions proposed by Russia are in breach of the existing contract.
The Minister of Climate and Environment of Poland – Anna Moskwa said there was no need to draw gas from reserves and that gas supplies to people will not be disrupted. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland – Marcin Przydacz said that Poland had been preparing for the possibility of Russia breaching the terms of the contract.
Speaking to media, he said, “I’m pretty sure that we will manage to handle this.” He added that the suspension proved Moscow was “not a reliable partner in any kind of business” and urged other European nations like Germany to support a ban on Russian energy imports.
PGNiG’s underground gas storage is almost 80% full and with summer approaching, demand will be lower. Poland also has alternative supply sources, including a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Swinoujscie. Besides, Poland was already planning to stop Russian gas supplies by the end of the year, when its long-term supply contract with Gazprom expires.
On May 1, 2022, a new gas pipeline connection with Lithuania is also due to open that will give Poland access to gas from Lithuania’s LNG terminal. A new pipeline delivering gas from Norway, known as the “Baltic Pipe” will also be online in October 2022. It should reach full capacity by the end of the year and would replace all Russian dependencies.
In recent years, Poland has reduced its dependence on Russian gas and it now buys LNG from Qatar and pipelines connect the country to the European market. Plus, the winter heating season is over, so demand is lower.
As far as the E.U. is concerned, it gets 40% of its gas supplies from Russia. The E.U. has said it will reduce its dependency on Russian gas by 2/3rd. However, many countries have pledged to move away from Russian energy in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. has also declared a complete ban on Russian oil, gas and coal imports. U.K. has also announced to phase-out Russian oil by the end of the year, with gas to follow as soon as possible.
