Moscow claims Europe still buys Russian gas despite its declarations

Despite some European Union countries publicizing their discontinuation of Russian gas purchases, most still continue to do so. This claim has been disclosed by Alexei Miller, the head of Gazprom, as cited by kommersant.ru. He also shed light on how Russian raw materials make their way to the EU.

The Russian magnate further elucidates, raw materials are delivered to the European countries through the Baumgarten distribution hub stationed in Austria. These materials travel via Ukrainian territory, utilizing the Sudzha gas compression station.

Miller stressed the fact that Russian supplies are utilized, even by those EU countries that have "officially discontinued using Russian gas". Yet, no supporting evidence or statistical figures were furnished to substantiate his claim. According to Gazprom reports, 42 million cubic meters of gas were transported solely via Sudzha on November 11.

Official data from the EU portrays a declining trend in the import of Russian raw materials. The European Commission is keen to curtail the import of Russian natural gas to 1.32-1.59 trillion cubic feet by 2023. In reaction to this, Nikolai Shulginov, the Russian energy minister, has argued that rising Russian gas supplies is the best strategy for mitigating gas prices in Europe. The import figures for 2021 show that a total of 5.47 trillion cubic feet of gas was imported from Russia.

In light of the escalated tension between Russia and Ukraine, culminating in Moscow's 2022 assault on Kyiv, the European Union is keen to expedite its departure from Russian gas imports. A consensus among the leaders of the 27-member bloc affirms the urgency to wean the European Union off Russian fossil fuels while diversifying energy sources and supply routes.

To assure a secure and affordable gas supply, the EU has undertaken multiple measures. These include the EU Council's consensus on new rules for collective raw material purchases and a so-called solidarity mechanism for sudden shortages. Other steps consist of a regulation for a 15% cut in EU gas demand by year-end 2022 and an accord with Japan that is forfeiting some of its liquefied gas orders.

Importation of Russian energy raw materials is still ongoing, albeit at a reduced rate. Since the start of the year, over 21 billion euros have been disbursed to Russia by the European Union for raw materials deliveries.

The EU's shift from Russian gas is evident from the current state of the storage facilities. As of October 16, European underground gas storage (UGS) were almost brimming, filled at 97.95% . This signifies an approximate volume of 3.715 trillion cubic feet of gas, against the infrastructure's maximum capacity of around 3.789 trillion cubic feet.