Russia’s Gazprom Group said it will no longer be able to export natural gas through Poland via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, after Moscow authorities imposed sanctions to the company that owns the Polish section of the pipeline, which is crucial for gas transit to Europe.
“A ban on transactions and payments to sanctioned entities has been implemented. For Gazprom, this means a ban on using a gas pipeline owned by EuRoPol GAZ to transport Russian natural gas through Poland,” the Russian energy group said.
Gazprom added that “the Polish side has repeatedly violated Gazprom’s rights as a shareholder in EuRoPol GAZ and on April 26 added Gazprom on the list of sanctioned companies, which blocked Gazprom’s ability to exercise the rights to the shares and other securities of EuRoPol GAZ and to receive dividends.”
On Wednesday, Russia announced sanctions against more than 30 companies in the European Union, the United States and Singapore, in retaliation for the sanctions it faces for its military offensive against Ukraine. The list of sanctioned companies includes 31 companies, including EuRoPol GAZ S.A., the owner of the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, a major hub for transporting Russian natural gas through Belarus and Poland to Germany, according to Agerpres.
Many of the other sanctioned companies are subsidiaries of Gazprom Germania GmbH, the former German subsidiary of the Russian group Gazprom, which the German state has placed under the control of the Energy Regulator because of its strategic importance.
In contrast, the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which connects Russia directly to Germany, is not affected.
Gazprom announced in late April the suspension of gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland after EU member states refused to pay their gas bills in rubles, as Vladimir Putin had demanded. In response, the EU reported that the two countries are currently supplied with gas by their neighbors in the European Union.
Gazprom, the world’s largest natural gas producer, supplies a third of Europe’s natural gas needs. The Russian group supplies Europe with natural gas through three main routes: the Ukrainian pipeline, the Yamal-Europe route via Belarus and Poland, and the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which connects Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.