“Gas trader GasTerra has decided not to comply with Gazprom’s unilateral payment requirements,” the organization, which is responsible for the supply and distribution of gas in the Netherlands, wrote in a statement. President Vladimir Putin demands to be paid in rubles for supplies of Russian gas. GasTerra does not want to comply with this requirement, which is why GazProm has announced that it will stop the supply with effect from 31 May.
The main reason, the president stated, is that because of the sanctions, Russia cannot now directly dispose of the euros that European companies pay for its gas. Putin says he can solve that situation with a complicated construction via the Gazprombank in Luxembourg. Gas buyers must have both a euro and a ruble account there. They pay in euros, which are converted by the bank into rubles in the ruble account. Gazprom is paid with those rubles.
The cessation of supply means that on October 1, the date the contract with Gazprom ends, approximately 2 billion cubic meters of concentrated gas will not be delivered. GasTerra has already anticipated this and has purchased gas elsewhere.
