Latvia has enough natural gas to face next winter, despite the immediate suspension of supply announced this Saturday by the Russian giant Gazprom, assured the Latvian Economy Minister, Ilze Indriksone.
The Baltic government reacted after the cut announced by Gazprom and after the main gas company of Latvijas Gaze (LG) announced that it was buying Russian gas, paid for in euros, through an anonymous intermediary.
The revelation made by LG caused some stir in the country, since in April the government announced the suspension of imports of natural gas from Russia.
The Latvian minister, quoted by local media, said the country did not expect to get Russian gas next winter, even before Gazprom’s announcement alleging breach of supply conditions.
The Baltic country has prohibited Russian gas imports by law since January 1, 2023, after suspending it for a time in reaction to the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February.
According to Ilze Indriksone, there is enough natural gas stored in an underground tank in the Latvian city of Inculkans (centre) to meet heating needs for the coming winter.
The deposit is operated by Conexus Baltic Grid, a gas supply network that is also connected to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
Indriksone’s remarks are in line with what other Latvian government officials have said about the possibility of a supply cut.
Since Gazprom cut off the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline this month, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingryda Simonyte told the media that her country no longer uses gas from that Russian gas company and has not bought it since last spring.
Gazprom’s decision comes at a time when this company decided to reduce deliveries of Russian gas to Europe through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, citing the need for turbine maintenance.
In June, Russia had already cut the volume of gas deliveries twice, saying the infrastructure could not function normally without a turbine being repaired in Canada.
Moscow claimed that the turbine had not been returned due to sanctions imposed by Western countries in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Both Canada and Germany have since agreed to return the equipment to Russia, although the turbine has not yet been delivered.
The West accuses Moscow of using energy as a weapon in retaliation for the sanctions adopted.
In turn, the Kremelin assures that there are technical problems in the gas infrastructure at stake.
Gazprom has also stopped gas supplies to several countries that have refused to pay in rubles (local currency).
Recently, the member countries of the European Union (EU) agreed to reduce gas consumption in a coordinated way and, in this way, help Germany, after a drastic drop in Russian shipments.
The objective is that, between August 1 of this year and March 31, 2023, the Member States reduce their consumption of natural gas by 15% (with respect to the historical average in that period, considering the years 2017 to 2021 ), in order to increase the level of European storage and create a safety cushion for emergency situations, as determined by the ministers of the 27 Member States at the end of an extraordinary Energy Council.
Source: Observadora
