Gazprom did not receive payment in rubles from Finland’s state-owned energy company Gasum by the May 20 deadline. The Russian group announced on Saturday May 21 in a press release the complete cessation of its deliveries to neighboring Finland. The decision comes six days after Helsinki made its candidacy for NATO membership official on Sunday, May 15. At the end of April, Gazprom had suspended all its gas deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland, ensuring that these two countries from the EU had not made a payment in roubles.
Other sources of supply
The Russian group says it has supplied 1.49 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Finland in 2021, i.e. two thirds of the country’s consumption. Natural gas, however, represents only 8% of the energy consumed in Finland and the Nordic country has indicated that it is counting on other sources of supply.
Heatstroke on the Baltic
“Unfriendly countries”
After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24 and the imposition of Western sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin had called on March 31 to buyers of Russian gas from countries “unfriendly” to pay in rubles from accounts in Russia under penalty of being deprived of supplies.
The list of “unfriendly countries”, published in early March, includes the United States, members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, South Korea, Norway and Australia. EU states are the main consumers of Russian gas. “As of April 1, payments for gas must be made in rubles using new bank details, which the partners were informed of in due time”says Gazprom.
European gas operators in the process of imposing payment in rubles