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Russian gas flows to France are drying up a little more each month. Gazprom announced on Tuesday August 30 that it would suspend completely » its gas deliveries to the French group Engie from Thursday, September 1, enough to further fuel fears about gas supplies as winter approaches.
In June, Gazprom had already invoked technical reasons to justify its drop in deliveries with Engie. Today, it is a disagreement on the contract concluded with the French energy company which is put forward to explain the new restrictions.
The Russian giant announced on Tuesday August 30 that it was going to suspend “ completely » its gas deliveries to the French group Engie, due to the latter’s non-payment for all the deliveries made in July. ” Gazprom Export has notified Engie of a complete suspension of gas deliveries from September 1, 2022 until receipt in full of the financial sums due for the deliveries. “, said the Russian group in a press release published Tuesday evening on its Telegram account.
The Russian faucet closes
Whether the reason is political or technical, the Russian tap is actually closing a little more. Deliveries of Russian gas to Engie had already dropped significantly since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, recently dropping to just 1.5 TWh (terawatt hour) per month, according to Engie. A figure to relate to supplies “ annual totals in Europe above 400 TWh for Engie, adds the main gas supplier in France, of which the French State holds nearly 24%.
But since the beginning of the summer, the French group had anticipated and made sure to be less vulnerable to Russian gas. Its dependence on Gazprom was only 4% last July. Even before the announcement of the interruption of Gazprom flows, Engie said it was already able to override and supply its customers with secure stocks.
Well stocked
French stocks are more than 90% full, according to the latest European data provided on Thursday August 25. The target is to reach 100% by November. But that doesn’t mean France will have enough gas to get through the winter, French government spokesman Olivier Véran warned on Monday.
More than ever, a winter without Russian gas is looming for France and for Europe. A perspective that will be at the heart of the defense council chaired on Friday by Emmanuel Macron.
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