Argues that the Polish operator of the gas pipeline, which reaches Germany, has breached its agreements with Gazprom
The sanctions that Russia imposed on Wednesday against EuRoPol GAZ SA, the owner of the Polish section of the Yamal-Europa gas pipeline, suppose, according to Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriánov, “the prohibition so that Poland can use the capacity of that gas pipeline.” In his words, “a ban on transactions and payments in favor of sanctioned persons, in particular for Gazprom, has been established, and this in turn means a ban on the use of the gas pipeline owned by EuRoPol GAZ to transport Russian gas through Poland” , a crucial gas pipeline that leads to Germany and runs through Belarus.
Kuprianov, quoted by the Interfax agency, recalled that “previously, the Polish side repeatedly violated the rights of PJSC Gazprom as a shareholder of EuRoPol GAZ, and, on April 26, 2022, included the company in the list of sanctions, blocking the ability of the company to exercise its rights over the shares and other securities of EuRoPol GAZ, and to receive dividends’.
The Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, with a length of more than 2,000 km from Torzhok (Russia) to Frankfurt Oder (Germany), reached the capacity established in the project, 33,000 million cubic meters per year, in 2006. The Polish section to Germany it has 683 kilometers and five compressor stations.
On Wednesday, the Russian government determined the new list of sanctions, which includes 31 European companies, most of them linked to Gazprom-Germany, recently absorbed by the German authorities. The suspension of gas supplies by Poland occurs while fuel deliveries via Ukraine are also being affected by the war, which has already caused an increase in gas prices of almost 20%.
