Poland, Bulgaria say Russia will stop supplying gas from April 27

A gas pumping station imported from Russia in Poland – Photo: AP

According to AFP news agency, Polish gas company PGNiG also said that it received a notice from Gazprom, through which the Russian energy company decided to suspend gas deliveries under the Yamal contract from April 27.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland’s gas storage facilities are 76% full, and that the country also has other necessary supplies besides the Yamal pipeline.

Poland hopes to receive gas from Norway through the Baltic pipeline project, which is expected to be completed in the second half of this year and meet about 50% of Poland’s gas consumption.

According to the Polish Liquefied Gas Association, in 2020 two-thirds of Poland’s imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will come from Russia, accounting for more than half of the country’s consumption. The government estimates this to fuel 3.5 million cars in Poland.

However, according to the newspaper PoliticoPoland is one of the strongest voices in asking European Union (EU) member states to stop buying oil, gas and coal from Russia, in response to Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine. .

Besides, Bulgaria also received the same notice.

“Bulgargaz has received notice that natural gas supplies from Gazprom will be suspended from April 27,” the Bulgarian Economy Ministry said. The ministry added that Bulgaria has fully met its obligations and paid the existing contract “in a timely, rigorous and in accordance with the terms”.

The Bulgarian Energy Ministry said that state-owned gas operators, Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz, are also working on alternative supply arrangements in response to the current situation.

“There is currently no need to impose any restrictive measures on consumers,” added the Bulgarian Energy Ministry.

According to AFP, Bulgaria is almost completely dependent on Russia with an annual consumption of about 3 billion cubic meters of gas. Bulgaria’s long-term contract with Gazprom expires at the end of this year.

Bulgaria receives only a small amount of gas from Azerbaijan, and expects gas volumes to increase after the completion of the gas pipeline with Greece later this year.

Gazprom has not yet confirmed the cessation of gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria. However, a Gazprom executive told Russian news agencies that “Poland must pay for gas under the new payment procedure”.

Previously, Russia asked EU member states to pay for gas in rubles instead of dollars as before.