Dutch gas trader GasTerra rejects Gazprom's demand to pay in rubles for Russian natural gas, as Denmark's biggest energy company Orsted prepares to halt gas supplies to Russia from May 31 after refusing to pay in rubles for the Russian energy source. The Danish company considers the demands of the Russian side to be a breach of contractual obligations.

According to the announcement of the Dutch company GasTerra, this was reported to Gazprom, which responded by saying that it will stop the delivery from May 31.

According to GasTerra, Gazprom's demand " could violate the sanctions imposed by the EU and involve too many financial and operational risks ". The opening of the unilaterally introduced Moscow accounts required by Russian law and their control by the Russian regime poses a particularly high risk for the Groningen company, the announcement states.

Stopping deliveries means that from May 31 to October 1, i.e. until the expiration of the valid contract, GasTerra will lose about 2 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas. At the same time, the Dutch company is confident that it can easily obtain this quantity from other suppliers.

Denmark does not pay in rubles either

" There is a risk that Gazprom Export will stop the gas supply to Orsted, " the Danish company said in a statement. The deadline for paying the price of gas is May 31. Orsted has indicated that it intends to continue paying for deliveries in euros or refuse to cooperate with Gazprom Export.

The company also stated that it is prepared in case Gazprom Export stops gas deliveries. They noted that there is no direct pipeline between Russia and Denmark, the country will be able to buy Russian gas on the European market through intermediaries.

In the case of Denmark, it is a small amount of Russian gas. Denmark's share of total gas exports from Russia to the EU is about 1.3 percent, and the country bought 1.965 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Gazprom last year.

The representatives of Orsted already made it clear at the end of April that they do not want to pay in rubles for Russian natural gas, and indicated that they will not open a dispute with Gazprom Export about this.

The new rules, approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin and which came into effect on April 1, oblige "unfriendly countries" to open a separate account at Gazprombank, to which they must transfer the price of gas in foreign currency. Then the bank itself sells the currency on the Moscow stock exchange, and only then is the payment considered complete.

MTI

Photo: Pavel Lvov/Sputnik via AFP