Latvia lost Russian gas

Expiration of consumables

According to Latvian gas transmission operator Conexus, Russian gas supplies to the country have stopped since July 30.

“Today, under the July implementation, PJSC Gazprom has stopped the gas supply to Latvia due to violation of gas withdrawal conditions,” the message published on Gazprom’s Telegram channel said.

According to the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from April 1, unfriendly countries must pay for Russian gas in rubles. According to the head of state, Moscow will see refusal as non-fulfillment of its obligations and suspension of existing contracts.

As early as April 27, the Russian company announced the suspension of gas supplies to Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and Polish PGNiG due to non-timely payment in rubles.

And on May 21, it was reported that the Russian gas supply to the Finnish company Gasum was suspended for the same reason. Then supplies were cut from Danish Orsted, Dutch GasTerra and Shell Energy Europe.

bypassing Russia’s rules

28 July Delphi portal reportedAigars Kalvitis, chairman of Latvijas Gaze, confirmed that the company has resumed gas purchases in Russia, but paid for it in euros. He also noted that he did not buy gas from Gazprom, but acted through an intermediary.

According to the head of the Latvian company, the flow of natural gas from Russia has been increasing since mid-June, during which time it exceeded one terawatt hour.

“Now Latvijas buys gas, but now we do not buy gas from Gazprom because we cannot pay Gazprom’s debt. We have another supplier,” Kalvitis said.

When asked to name this other supplier, Kalvitis said, “This is business information that is not discussed in the public domain.” However, he noted that the payment was made in euros, not rubles. He added that “there are no concerns about the company’s ability to supply gas to its customers.”

The article also refers to the statement of Edijs Saitsans, Deputy Undersecretary of the Latvian Ministry of Economy. He said the country was considering paying for gas in rubles, but officials concluded that this would violate the sanctions imposed on Moscow.

Latvian Saeima has banned gas supplies from Russia from the beginning of next year. On July 14, the Seimas, in the final reading, also supported the amendments to the Energy Law, allowing the development of a nuclear power program in the country.

Europe’s rejection of gas from Russia

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission stated In an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias, he said that the 27 EU member states should “voluntarily save gas” to ensure “energy security” in winter. It also recognized the need for the “temporary” use of coal for power generation.

“Russia deliberately stopped deliveries to 12 member countries, in whole or in part. We must prepare for further cuts, or even a complete cut off of Russian gas supplies. “I believe that the spirit of unity and solidarity that has helped us face the pandemic will enable us to overcome these challenges.”

According to him, “collective commitment to reduce gas consumption by 15% is of great importance.” The head of the European Commission is confident that this will help accumulate gas in the storage facilities of EU countries before winter.

“Now the EU is turning to more reliable energy partners. We already have record shipments of liquefied natural gas from the United States. “We are getting more and more gas from Norway, the Gulf states, Algeria or the Caspian Sea,” said Ursula von der Leyen.

He also suggested that Portugal and Spain “have made great efforts to develop LNG infrastructure that can benefit the entire EU”. According to the head of the European Commission, the Iberian Peninsula “could become a platform for LNG from Africa and America to the EU.” However, this “needs to improve the currently limited and inadequate gas connections between the peninsula and the rest of Europe.”

“The switch to coal should be a temporary solution if necessary. Renewable energy sources or less polluting options are preferred, but I always insist that European countries choose their own energy balance,” he said.