Russia cuts off natural gas supply to Denmark in escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine
- Moscow previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in roubles – tap now turned off to the Netherlands
- The situation underpins the need for the EU to become independent of Russian gas by accelerating the ‘buildout’ of renewable energy, Danish CEO said
Denmark’s largest energy company said Russia cut off its gas supply on Wednesday because it refused to pay in roubles, in the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine.
Russia previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in roubles. And on Tuesday, the tap was turned off to the Netherlands.
Danish energy company Ørsted said it still expected to be able to serve its customers.
“We stand firm in our refusal to pay in roubles, and we’ve been preparing for this scenario”, Ørsted CEO Mads Nipper said, “The situation underpins the need of the EU becoming independent of Russian gas by accelerating the buildout of renewable energy”.
In response to Western sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree saying foreign buyers needed to pay in roubles for Russian gas as of April 1.
Moscow offered customers receiving its natural gas the opportunity to establish an account in dollars or euros at Russia’s third-largest bank, Gazprombank, then a second account in roubles. The importer would pay the gas bill in euros or dollars as specified in contracts and direct the bank to exchange the money for roubles.
