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Austria intends to terminate gas import contract with Russia
Feb 12, 2024
Austria intends to terminate a long-term contract with Russia for the purchase of gas from Gazprom.
This was stated by Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler, according to Reuters.
Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Austria tried to end its long-standing dependence on affordable Russian gas and began looking for alternative suppliers.
Gewessler said that Russia's share of Austria's gas imports rose to a record 98% in December from 76% a month earlier, even though total imports were down slightly.
"The market and the energy companies that are part of it are not fulfilling their responsibility to reduce the dependency on Russian gas sufficiently. The diversification of our gas imports is advancing far too slowly," she said.
The minister said that her department has commissioned the economic think tank Wifo to prepare a study by summer on the economic consequences of the contract termination and the dangers of remaining dependent on Russian gas.
"We must prepare to exit OMV's long-term contracts," she said.-
