Ukraine stops some flows of Russian gas to Europe

Natural gas, Putin's weapon to put pressure on the world 3:24

London (CNN Business) --

Ukraine cut off some of the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe on Wednesday, blaming Moscow for diverting supplies from the vital network of gas pipelines.

Russian gas, a key source of energy for Germany and many other European Union economies, had continued to flow uninterrupted through pipelines in Ukraine, even after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February.

• Europe is planning to get rid of Russia's oil.

  Will the gas follow after?

However, in a statement late Tuesday, the operator of the gas transmission system in Ukraine reported that it decided to suspend operations at a key transit point, due to "interference by the invading forces."

The Sokhranivka metering station handles up to 32.6 million cubic meters per day, or about a third of the Russian gas that flows to Europe through Ukraine, the operator said.

He also noted that Russian interference, including the unauthorized diversion of gas, put "the stability and security" of the system at risk.

Ukraine indicated that gas volumes could instead be moved to the Sudzha transit point further west in territory it controls.

And he pointed to a similar move he said happened in 2020 to allow for repairs.

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• ANALYSIS |

  Europe braces for gas crisis as Russia cuts off some supplies

However, Russia's state gas company Gazprom said in a statement that such a reorganization would be "technically impossible."

He added that he found no reason for the interruption.

"Transit through Sokhranivka was provided in full, there were no complaints from counterparts and there are none," he said in the statement posted on his official Telegram channel.

"Gazprom fully fulfills all its obligations to European consumers, supplies gas for transit according to the contract and the agreement of the operator, transit services are fully paid."

In a separate statement reported by Reuters, Gazprom said volumes shipped through Ukraine to Europe on Wednesday fell 25% from Tuesday's levels, from about 96 million cubic meters to 72 million.

A facility of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) in Kyiv, on May 11, 2022. (Credit: Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Zongqiang Luo, natural gas analyst at Rystad Energy, said no specific country is likely to feel the "immediate impact" because Europe's gas network is well connected.

Gas flows through Sokhranivka averaged about 23 million cubic meters per day in May, the expert added.

The Sudzha transit point could add 13 million cubic meters to its gas flow to help offset the impact.

But the shortfall could make it difficult to refill storage tanks before winter and "accelerate Europe's plans to move away from Russian gas imports," he wrote in a research note.

Oil: the effects of sanctions on Russia 1:59

Gas storage facilities in the European Union are 37% full, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

That figure is normal for the time of year, but well below the 80% target the bloc set for November.

European natural gas prices rose 5% on Wednesday morning.

But they have since fallen back below Tuesday's closing levels, according to Rystad.

Oil prices, which have fallen about 9% since this Friday, returned to the rise on the news.

Brent crude and US oil rose about 3% on Wednesday.

Natural gas prices in the US rose 5% this Tuesday and another 1% in the early hours of this Wednesday.

"The threat of gas supply disruptions to Europe appears to be pushing oil higher in Asia," wrote Jeffrey Halley, principal market analyst at OANDA.

"All bets are on inflation if Russian gas supplies to Europe are cut off."

• If the countries of the European Union do without Russia's oil, who could supply them?

Last month, Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, dramatically escalating its response to Western sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

Gazprom said it had completely stopped supplies to gas companies PGNiG of Poland and Bulgargaz of Bulgaria after they refused to comply with Moscow's demand that they pay in rubles, rather than euros or dollars.

Bulgaria calls Russian gas cut blackmail 2:47

The European Commission described the move as an attempt at "blackmail".

According to the International Energy Agency, last year Russia accounted for about 45% of all the bloc's gas imports.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, has managed to reduce Russia's share of its gas imports from 55% to 35% since the war began.

But, an abrupt stop could push the country into a recession.

"Our gas supply is guaranteed at this stage and we are monitoring the supply situation closely together with the Federal Network Agency," Economy Ministry spokeswoman Susanne Ungrad told CNN on Wednesday.

Most of the Russian gas that Germany imports is transported by the Nord Stream 1 pipeline through the Baltic Sea, Ungrad added.

CNN's Alex Stambaugh, Nadine Schmidt, Nathan Hodge, Julia Horowitz and Benjamin Brown contributed to this article.

Natural gasWar in UkraineRussia invasion of Ukraine