Gazprom cuts gas to Engie entirely, suspending all supplies via Nord Stream

MAXIM SCHEMETOV / REUTERS

Russian giant Gazprom is “completely” halting its deliveries to French group Engie after the latter failed to pay for all deliveries made in July.

GAZ – Russian giant Gazprom announced on Tuesday, August 30, that it will completely halt its gas supplies to French group Engie from Thursday, after the latter failed to pay for all supplies made in July.

“Gazprom Export has informed Engie of a complete suspension of gas supplies from September 1, 2022 until the full receipt of the financial amounts due for the supplies”the Russian group said in a press release published on its Telegram account on Tuesday evening.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne wants “Reassure Engie customers”confirmed during the Quotidien broadcast on the TMC channel this Tuesday that the French group had “Other sources found”without specifying which one.

For its part, French energy company Engie announced in a brief press release this Tuesday that Russian giant Gazprom had informed it of additional and immediate cuts in its gas supplies. “due to a disagreement between the parties on the application of contracts”.

Deliveries of Russian gas to Engie have been falling significantly since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine and, according to Engie, have recently fallen to just 1.5 TWh (terawatt hours) per month. This number refers to deliveries “Annual totals in Europe over 400 TWh” for Engie, adds the main gas supplier in France, in which the French state owns almost 24%.

An “optimal” filling rate at the beginning of winter

At the end of July, Engie assured that it had significantly reduced its “Financial and physical threats from Russian gas”which already accounted for only around 4% of its deliveries. “It’s entirely within the flexibility of our portfolios, so we’re not worried at all.”said its managing director Catherine MacGregor at the time.

The concern also reminded on Tuesday that it has already taken measures to be able to supply its customers even in the event of a disruption in Gazprom’s flows. According to the European Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI) platform, France’s gas stocks exceeded the 90% filling level threshold for the winter last Thursday (91.47% on Tuesday morning) and France is on track to meet its 100% target . until nov

“At the level of gas arrivals, we are still seeing injections today that continue to be fully in line with our forecasts and will allow us to arrive at the beginning of winter with a filling rate that is optimal for the whole of France”Pierre Chambon, managing director of Storengy France, an Engie subsidiary specializing in storage, told AFP on Tuesday.

The Nord Stream gas pipeline is being serviced

As Gazprom announced a few days ago, all gas deliveries from Russia to Europe via the Nord Stream gas pipeline were stopped again on Wednesday. The affected work in a compressor station in northern Germany, from where the gas is then exported to other European countries.

This interruption must last three days.

See also on The HuffPost: Sobriety or Rationing, Borne’s Warning to Bosses