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Russia suspends gas to Italy after 'problem' in Austria

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Russia suspends gas to Italy after 'problem' in Austria
This file picture from 2017 shows the headquarters of the Italian oil and gas company Eni in San Donato Milanese, near Milan. Gazprom suspended gas deliveries to Eni on Saturday. Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP

Russia's Gazprom has suspended gas deliveries to Italy's Eni, blaming a transport problem in Austria, the Italian energy giant said on Saturday.

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"Gazprom told us that it was not able to confirm the delivery of the volumes demanded for today, citing the impossibility of gas transport through Austria," Eni said in a statement.

As a result, "Russian gas flows to Eni via the Tarvisio entry point will be naught", it said.

In a statement published on Telegram, Gazprom said the problem was due to regulatory changes in Austria that took place at the end of September and that it was working with Italian customers to resolve the issue.

According to Gazprom, the Austrian gas grid operator had refused to confirm the transport nominations.

In Austria, regulatory authority E-Control said the new rules, which entered into force on Saturday, had been "known to all market actors for months".

It said it expected "all to conform and take the necessary measures to fulfil their obligations".

The problems were related to "contractual details" linked to the transit of gas towards Italy, it said on Twitter, adding in response to a tweeted question that this currently had "no effect" on users in Austria.

Most of Russian gas delivered to Italy passes via Ukraine through the Trans Austria Gas Pipeline (TAG), to Tarvisio in northern Italy on the border with Austria.

Before the war in Ukraine, Italy imported 95 percent of the gas it consumes -- about 45 percent of which came from Russia.

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Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi has signed new deals with other gas producers to reduce Italy's reliance on Russia, lowered to 25 percent as of June, while accelerating a shift towards renewable energies.

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