Austria warns of possible cutoff of Russian gas supplies

Head of the  Austrian oil and gas company OMV Alfred Stern fears the termination of Russian gas supplies to Austria through Ukraine.

"We believe that there is a great risk ... Companies in Russia and Ukraine will have to sign a new contract to use the pipeline at the end of 2024. The risk is high, but we have hedged against it by diversifying. We are ready," Stern said in an interview with Die Presse newspaper.

In December 2023, Austrian publication eXXpress wrote that Austria had, contrary to expectations, increased its dependence on Russian gas. In October, the country purchased from Russia about 90% of all imported fuel.

It was noted that in the third quarter of 2023, Austria's OMV purchased twice as much gas from Gazprom as it did a year earlier.

At the same time, it was reported in October that OMV was looking for measures to diversify supplies.