Austrian OMV terminates contract with Gazprom, which provided for gas supplies for 35 years

The Austrian oil and gas company OMV has announced the termination of a natural gas supply contract with the russian Gazprom. The contract was concluded in 2006 and was to be valid until 2040.

This is stated in a message on the OMV website.

"Today, OMV announced the termination of a long-term natural gas supply contract with Gazprom Export LLC due to numerous material violations of contractual obligations," the company said.

It is noted that from November 16, 2024, the russian side stopped gas supplies, which was the reason for the termination of the contract.

OMV emphasized that the termination of the contract takes effect immediately.

The company added that over the past three years it has managed to successfully diversify gas supplies from russia through alternative sources.

They also reported that OMV's gas storage level in Austria is currently around 85%. The company is able to fulfill all its contracts with customers.

Contract dispute between Austria and russia

The supply of russian gas to Austria was stopped in mid-November after Vienna threatened to use part of the gas as compensation for a USD 242 million court victory.

Earlier, OMV won the arbitration it initiated against Gazprom. The reason was irregular gas supplies from Gazprom Export through Germany and their complete cessation in 2022.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, at the end of November it became known that thanks to renewable energy sources, Austria did not experience any problems due to the cessation of russian gas supplies.