Russia stops gas supply to Denmark – VG
The Russian gas company Gazprom said on Tuesday that they will stop supplying gas to the Danish energy company Ørsted.
Ørsted states that gas to Denmark must now be channeled through the European market, according to Reuters. Ørsted has refused to pay for gas in rubles.
– In Ørsted, we stand by our refusal to pay in rubles, and we have prepared, so we expect to continue to be able to gas to our customers, delivered CEO Mads Nipper in Ørsted in a press release.
The shutdown in gas supply will take place from tomorrow, Wednesday 1 June.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that she supports Ørsted’s decision not to pay in rubles, according to NTB.
In the past, Gazprom has stopped supplying gas to the Netherlands, Finland, Poland and Bulgaria on the same grounds.
A significant part from Russia
Denmark covers 18 percent of the annual energy consumption with natural gas, according to the news agency AFP. In 2019, three quarters of the gas was produced in Denmark. A significant part of what was imported came from Russia.
It is not a direct gas pipeline between Denmark and Russia, and therefore Russia can not close directly to the gas, writes Ørsted.
It will thus still be possible for Danes to use their gas boiler, but the gas must now be purchased from the European market. It is not expected that the development will create problems with the gas supply in Denmark, writes Danish Ekstra Bladet.
Since the war broke out in Ukraine, there has been criticism of the Danish energy giant who believed that they could not get out of a trade agreement with Gazprom.
However, Ørsted would not agree to the demand that it be paid for the gas in Russian rubles. They have stuck to paying in Euros.