Austria's Russian Gas: What's The Deal?

Austria's dependence on Russian gas has grown from 80% to 98% in two years, making it the European Union country that relies the most on Russian gas. The country is now seeking to take more radical steps to reduce its dependence on Russian gas, including ending energy company OMV's long-term contract to buy gas from Gazprom. Austria's Baumgarten hub near the border with Slovakia receives Russian gas via Ukraine, along with shipments from Norway and other countries.

Austria's dependence on Russian gas has grown from 80% to 98% in two years

Austria's dependence on Russian gas has grown from 80% to 95% or 98% in two years, making it the most reliant country in the EU. The country's energy minister has raised concerns about this ahead of a national election in the autumn.

Austria has long sought to maintain close ties with nearby Russia, and has relied on affordable Russian gas for decades. However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Austria has been trying to shift away from this reliance. The country is now seeking to take more radical steps, including ending energy company OMV's long-term contract to buy gas from Gazprom. OMV, with a national gas market share of 40%, has said it would have replacement cover for lost Russian gas supply, from its own production facilities in Norway and Austria and the global market.

Austria's Baumgarten hub near the border with Slovakia receives Russian gas via Ukraine, along with shipments from Norway and other countries. The country's electronic gas trading platform is the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH), which saw nominations of 575.1 TWh in 2023.

Austria is the European Union country that relies the most on Russian gas

Austria's Baumgarten hub near the border with Slovakia receives Russian gas via Ukraine, along with shipments from Norway and other countries. The country's electronic gas trading platform is the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH), which saw nominations of 575.1 TWh in 2023.

Austria's oil and gas market leader, OMV, has said it would have replacement cover for lost Russian gas supply from its own production facilities in Norway and Austria, as well as the global market. However, OMV has a long-term contract to buy gas from Russia's Gazprom until 2040 and has made clear that it will keep buying gas from them.

Austria is now trying to shift away from Russian gas after decades of reliance, but it is currently the remaining gateway for Russian gas into Europe.

Austria's Baumgarten hub near the border with Slovakia receives Russian gas via Ukraine

Austria's electronic gas trading platform is the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH). On its virtual trading point, which serves 319 participants, CEGH saw nominations of 575.1 TWh in 2023, showing its role in distributions to and from the region. The churn rate, a market term describing how many times gas is traded before it is finally physically transferred, was 4.22 on average in 2023.

Austrian oil and gas market leader OMV has said it would have replacement cover for lost Russian gas supply, from its own production facilities in Norway and Austria and the global market. It said it has LNG capacities at the GATE terminal in Rotterdam, access to the EU's common gas purchasing platform and to all European marketplaces, and corresponding transport capacities. However, OMV has a long-term contract to buy gas from Gazprom until 2040, and has made clear that it would keep buying gas from them.

Austrian oil and gas market leader OMV has said gas supplies from Russia's Gazprom could be suspended

Austrian oil and gas market leader OMV has said that gas supplies from Russia's Gazprom could be suspended. OMV has a national gas market share of 40% and has stated that it would have replacement cover for lost Russian gas supply, from its own production facilities in Norway and Austria, as well as the global market.

Austria is the European Union country that relies the most on Russian gas, with 95% of its annual gas usage coming from Russia, compared to 14% in the rest of the EU. This reliance has grown from 80% to 98% in the two years since the Ukraine war began.

Austria's Baumgarten hub near the border with Slovakia receives Russian gas via Ukraine, along with shipments from Norway and other countries. The country is now seeking to end its long-term contract with Gazprom, with energy minister Leonore Gewessler stating that Moscow is no longer a reliable partner.

OMV, however, has made clear that it intends to keep buying gas from Gazprom under a contract that runs until 2040.

Austria sought to end its decades-long dependency on affordable Russian gas after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022

Austria has long been dependent on Russian gas, with the share of Russian gas in annual Austrian usage at 95% compared with 14% in the rest of the EU. In 2024, two years after the Ukraine war began, Austria's dependence on Russian gas had grown from 80% to 98%.

Austria is now the European Union country that relies the most on Russian gas, with many others having stopped purchases since the energy crisis in 2022. Land-locked Austria gets most of its gas from Russia, although it is trying to shift away after decades of reliance.

Austria's energy minister has said the country is seeking to take more radical steps, including ending energy company OMV's long-term contract to buy gas from Gazprom. While political leaders like Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler of the Greens have repeated that Moscow is no longer a reliable partner, partly state-owned oil company OMV has made clear that it would keep buying gas from Gazprom under a contract that runs until 2040.

OMV, with a national gas market share of 40%, has said it would have replacement cover for lost Russian gas supply, from its own production facilities in Norway and Austria and the global market. It said it has LNG capacities at the GATE terminal in Rotterdam, access to the EU's common gas purchasing platform and to all European marketplaces, and corresponding transport capacities.

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