Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine says its gas supply is secure

Voestalpine AG

18/11/2024 21:07

VIENNA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Austrian steelmaker
Voestalpine  VOES.VI  said on Monday its natural gas supply is
secure even if Russia's Gazprom  GAZP.MM  stops deliveries to
Austria altogether.
    Gazprom on Saturday halted supplies to Austrian energy
company OMV  OMVV.VI  after OMV won an arbitration case against
Gazprom awarding it more than 230 million euros ($244 million)
in damages and said it would recover that money by not paying
Gazprom's invoices.
    Gazprom's shipments to Austria via pipeline through Ukraine
and Slovakia have continued, however. Flows into Austria are
down by less than a fifth.
    "We have received assurances from our suppliers that we will
receive the contractually agreed gas volumes even in the event
of a possible interruption in supply from Gazprom Export,"
Voestalpine said in a statement in response to a Reuters
question about security of supply.
    Voestalpine is one of Austria's biggest consumers of gas as
steelmaking is energy-intensive. 
    "In addition, Voestalpine obtains gas directly from various
international sources and can also make use of the natural gas
storage facility built in 2022, which alone will cover our
current requirements in full for at least 3-4 months," it added,
referring to its own reserves.
    Austria has long been heavily reliant on Russian gas. The
country pledged to kick that habit soon after Russia's
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It says it is now
prepared for an end to Russian gas supplies, with large gas
storage facilities that are 93% full and other sources able to
fill any supply gap.
    At the same time, it continues to obtain most of its gas
from Russia. In September, the latest month for which data is
available, 86% of imports came from Russia, according to the
government's energy portal.
 ($1 = 0.9433 euro)

 (Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; Writing by Francois
Murphy;
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
 ((francois.murphy@thomsonreuters.com; +43 1 2530 165 010;))