Russian Gas Supplies To Austria Via Ukraine To Stop By End Of 2024 - Ex-OMV CEO

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) Austria should prepare for the fact that Russian gas supplies through Ukraine will end by the end of 2024, when the current transit contract expires, Gerhard Roiss, a former CEO of Austrian energy corporation OMV, has said.

"Yesterday, I spoke with the Ukrainian deputy energy minister and I asked him what is going on with this transit contract, I mean Russian gas through Ukraine and then to Austria, which expires in 2024. And I asked him, will it be extended? He gave a clear 'No.' (He said) we will fulfill this contract until 2024 but will not extend it," he said in an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF on Wednesday evening, adding "we here in Austria should prepare ourselves for that.

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Roiss noted that Austria, which is almost 80% dependent on Russian gas, will not be able receive it by the end of next year, as there is no pipeline with the capacity to deliver this amount.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that Ukrainian state-run energy company Naftogaz wanted to keep pumping Russian gas through Ukraine despite the ongoing conflict, as transit brings profits and limits the area of Russian air strikes.

To date, Russia's Gazprom supplies about 40 million cubic meters of gas per day to the Sudzha entry point on border with Ukraine for further transit to Europe. The current transit contract expires in December 2024.