Austria has increased its dependence on Russian gas again

Last December, almost 71% of Austria's gas imports came from Russia. At the same time, only for the period from January to November 2022, Austria could pay about 6.7 billion euros for gas to Russia.

This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the ARA.

"Austria's dependence on Russian gas increased again at the end of 2022. According to energy data published by the responsible Ministry for Climate Affairs, in December, an estimated 71% of gas imports came from Russia. Between May and October 2022, the dependence gradually decreased from over 70 to just under 20%, and then increased to around 40% in November. Prior to the war in Ukraine, Austria was 80% dependent on Russian gas," the report said.

There may be some inaccuracies in the data on gas imports, as gas market participants are not required to indicate the exact source of gas origin during monitoring.

The reason for the growth in November and December is a decrease in imports from Germany and Italy "combined with relatively constant gas flows from Russia".

It is noted that in the summer, Gazprom sharply reduced the volume of gas supplied to the gas hub in Baumgarten for the Austrian oil and gas company OMV, but then began to supply more. Thus, in early February, OMV CEO Alfred Stern said that Gazprom was once again supplying Austria with 100% of the ordered volumes. In the summer, the Russian company supplied only 30% or even less.

As of February 7, Austrian gas storage facilities were 74.9% full, which is "a very high figure for early February, after the winter months of December and January."

At the same time, the Neos Lab educational academy, which belongs to the liberal NEOS party, noted in its report that Austria's dependence on Russian gas has increased despite the European trend, as the EU has never bought so little Russian gas as in recent weeks. According to this report, from January to November 2022, Austria paid about 6.7 billion euros to Russia for imported gas.

"With every billion spent on Russian natural gas, Austria is supporting the Russian military economy and also exacerbating the problem of the loss of purchasing power of the Austrian economy," said Lukas Sustala, director of Neos Lab.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 13/02/2023