Central European gas flows have fully adapted to the end of Russian gas supply via Ukraine, with Germany and Italy making up the shortfall. According to Austrian Grid Management, the country boosted imports from Germany and Italy when flows from Slovakia were halted after Ukraine declined to renew a 5-year gas transit deal with Russia. Slovakia has drawn on a connection with Hungary as its only source of imports so far in the new year after Gazprom stopped supplying Slovenský plynárenský priemysel (SPP) as the Ukraine transit ended.
Energy experts had earlier warned that Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are likely to be the hardest hit after imports of Russian gas via Ukraine are cut off. Thankfully, they have managed to secure alternative supplies: last year, Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR, started supplying natural gas to Slovakia’s SPP, the country’s largest state-owned energy operator. This came just a month after SPP signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan as it prepared for a possible halt to Russian supplies via Ukraine. SPP has pledged to supply its customers mainly via pipelines from Germany and also Hungary, albeit at additional transit costs.
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Meanwhile, the United States is likely to emerge as the biggest winner of the unfolding situation in Europe–if recent developments are any indication. Norway and the U.S. have replaced Russia as Europe’s biggest gas supplier: last year, Norway supplied 87.8 bcm (billion cubic meters) of gas to Europe, good for 30.3% of total imports while the U.S. supplied 56.2 bcm, accounting for 19.4% of total. However, the U.S. is the biggest LNG supplier to Europe: last year, the U.S. accounted for nearly half of total LNG imports by the continent, marking the third consecutive year in which the United States supplied more LNG to Europe than any other country.
