SOURCE:
"Four buyers from Europe have already paid for Russian gas in rubles, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing a source close to Gazprom, as the Russian gas giant halted supply to Poland and Bulgaria.
Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off the gas supply to Europe if the “hostile” nations—including all of the EU—do not start paying in rubles for gas. The EU has rejected Putin’s demands for payments in rubles, while Russia did not immediately cut off the gas supply to Europe after April 1, partly because it is dependent on revenues from gas and partly because payments for gas delivered after April 1 are not due until later this month or early May.
Some of Russia’s natural gas customers have agreed to pay in rubles for Russian gas, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this month, without disclosing which buyers had agreed to pay in rubles for gas.
According to Bloomberg’s source on Wednesday, ten companies in Europe have already opened accounts at Gazprombank, which Putin has designated as the bank that will be handling the payments in rubles for Russian gas.
The EU’s refusal to pay directly in rubles tests Putin’s threat to cut off the gas supply, and buyers in Europe “would be running a very real risk of their supplies being cut,” Katja Yafimava, a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told Bloomberg last week.
Late on Tuesday, Poland and Bulgaria said they had been notified by Gazprom that Russian gas supply to the two countries would be cut off as of Wednesday. Gazprom says supply was stopped “due to absence of payments in rubles.”
Gazprom confirmed on Wednesday that the gas had been shut off to the two countries. In the contract with Gazprom, Bulgaria has to pay in U.S. dollars for Russian gas and Russia’s demand for payment in rubles is a breach of contract, Bulgarian Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov said on Wednesday.
“It is clear that in the current war in Ukraine, Russia uses natural gas as a political and economic weapon,” Nikolov added, noting that Bulgaria will not negotiate under pressure."
According to Bloomberg’s source on Wednesday, ten companies in Europe have already opened accounts at Gazprombank, which Putin has designated as the bank that will be handling the payments in rubles for Russian gas.
The EU’s refusal to pay directly in rubles tests Putin’s threat to cut off the gas supply, and buyers in Europe “would be running a very real risk of their supplies being cut,” Katja Yafimava, a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told Bloomberg last week.
Late on Tuesday, Poland and Bulgaria said they had been notified by Gazprom that Russian gas supply to the two countries would be cut off as of Wednesday. Gazprom says supply was stopped “due to absence of payments in rubles.”
Gazprom confirmed on Wednesday that the gas had been shut off to the two countries. In the contract with Gazprom, Bulgaria has to pay in U.S. dollars for Russian gas and Russia’s demand for payment in rubles is a breach of contract, Bulgarian Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov said on Wednesday.
“It is clear that in the current war in Ukraine, Russia uses natural gas as a political and economic weapon,” Nikolov added, noting that Bulgaria will not negotiate under pressure."
SOURCE:
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/German-Energy-Giant-To-Pay-For-Russian-Gas-In-Rubles.html
German Energy Giant To Pay For Russian Gas In Rubles
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/German-Energy-Giant-To-Pay-For-Russian-Gas-In-Rubles.html
German Energy Giant To Pay For Russian Gas In Rubles
Uniper set to pay for Russian gas imports in Rubles. Uniper's move comes despite calls from the European Commission to EU energy buyers to not pay for Russian gas in rubles.
Germany's power utility Uniper—one of Germany's largest gas importers—will pay for Russian gas deliveries in rubles in accordance with the new payment procedure announced by Russia last month.
"The plan is to make our payments in euros to an account in Russia," a company spokesperson told German media, as cited by Reuters.
Per the procedure, any buyer of Russian gas from any unfriendly country needs to open two accounts in Gazprombank: one in the foreign currency it wants to pay in and one in rubles.
When a gas payment is due, the buyer deposits the necessary sum in dollars or euros in its first Gazprombank account. The bank then converts the sum into rubles under Russian central bank exchange rates and deposits it in the second account, from which the actual payment is made.
Uniper said earlier this week it was prepared to begin paying in rubles for Russian gas, soon after Gazprom informed Poland and Bulgaria that it would suspend gas deliveries to them following their refusal to pay for the gas in rubles.
The Bulgarian state gas company said that it had found problems in the terms of the new procedure that put the security of gas deliveries in doubt. Uniper, on the other hand, does not seem to have such misgivings. It also does not share EU officials' concern about the switch to rubles possibly breaching sanctions.
"We consider that the amendment of the payment process complies with the sanctions law and so the payments are possible," said the chief financial officer of the energy company, Tiina Tuomela, this week.
Uniper's move comes despite calls from the European Commission to EU energy buyers to not pay for Russian gas in rubles.
"Companies with such contracts should not accede to the Russian demands," EC president von der Leyen said this week, as quoted by Al Jazeera. "This would be a breach of the sanctions so a high risk for the companies."