Russia could cut off Denmark and the Netherlands' natural gas supply over refusal to pay in rubles
Denmark and the Netherlands could become the latest European countries to have their deliveries of Russia's natural gas cut off.
On Monday, Danish energy company Ørsted and Dutch gas trading firm GasTerra warned Russia could turn off the taps as soon as Tuesday because they had refused to make payments in rubles — just weeks after Moscow did the same to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland.
Ørsted said it had no legal obligation to pay in rubles in its contract with Russian state energy giant Gazprom and that the payment deadline is Tuesday, May 31. It would continue to pay in euros, it said in a statement.
"There is a risk that Gazprom Export will stop supplying gas to Ørsted... this will be a breach of contract," Ørsted said in a statement.
The company said it had prepared for an abrupt break to its Russian gas imports, and had been filling up storage facilities in Denmark and Germany.
GasTerra said Gazprom will "discontinue" its gas deliveries beginning on Tuesday. That means that about 2 billion cubic meters of contracted gas will go undelivered between now and the start of October.
GasTerra said it had prepared for this scenario by buying gas from other sources.
About 4% of Denmark's total energy consumption, and around 2% of the Netherlands', comes from Russian gas, according to Bruegel, an economic think tank.
Denmark and the Netherlands could become the latest European countries to have their deliveries of Russia's natural gas cut off.
On Monday, Danish energy company Ørsted and Dutch gas trading firm GasTerra warned Russia could turn off the taps as soon as Tuesday because they had refused to make payments in rubles — just weeks after Moscow did the same to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland.
Ørsted said it had no legal obligation to pay in rubles in its contract with Russian state energy giant Gazprom and that the payment deadline is Tuesday, May 31. It would continue to pay in euros, it said in a statement.
"There is a risk that Gazprom Export will stop supplying gas to Ørsted... this will be a breach of contract," Ørsted said in a statement.
The company said it had prepared for an abrupt break to its Russian gas imports, and had been filling up storage facilities in Denmark and Germany.
GasTerra said Gazprom will "discontinue" its gas deliveries beginning on Tuesday. That means that about 2 billion cubic meters of contracted gas will go undelivered between now and the start of October.
GasTerra said it had prepared for this scenario by buying gas from other sources.
About 4% of Denmark's total energy consumption, and around 2% of the Netherlands', comes from Russian gas, according to Bruegel, an economic think tank.
