International Desk: Russia has cut off gas supplies to neighboring Finland after Poland and Bulgaria over a dispute over payment for exported gas in rubles.
Russia’s largest energy company Gazprom cut off gas exports on Saturday, according to Finnish gas transmission and distribution company Gas grid Finland.
Gazprom’s subsidiary Gazprom Exports has imposed sanctions on Moscow, forcing European countries to pay the price of Russian gas in rubles, threatening to cut off gas supplies otherwise. But Finland refused to comply.
Gas grid Finland said in a statement that “gas exports through the Imatra entrance have been stopped.”
The gas supplied by Russia enters Finland through the city of Imatra.
Gasprom warned on Friday that the flow of gas from 0400 GMT could be cut off, Finland’s state-owned wholesale gas company Gasum said on Friday.
The company confirmed on Saturday that the flow of gas had stopped since then.
“Under the Gasum supply agreement, natural gas supplies to Finland have been cut off,” they said in a statement.
Gassum said they were prepared for the possibility of a Russian supply cut-off and that they would now be able to handle the situation without Russian gas.
“Starting today and next summer, Gasum will supply its customers with natural gas from other sources through the Baltic Connector Pipeline,” they said in a statement.
The Baltic Connector Pipeline connects Finland with neighboring Estonia’s gas grid.
Gazprom Exports said on Friday that Gasum was blocking the flow of gas because it did not comply with Russia’s new rules on the ruble settlement.
According to Reuters, most of the gas used in Finland comes from Russia, but it accounts for about 5 percent of the country’s annual fuel consumption.
