MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Gazprom has confirmed complete suspension of gas supplies to Denmark’s Orsted Salg & Service A/S and Shell Energy Europe (Shell’s European subsidiary) due to failure to pay in rubles, the Russian gas holding said in a statement on Wednesday.
"As of the end of the working day on May 31, Gazprom Export did not yet receive a payment from Orsted Salg & Service for the gas supplied in April, which was to be made in compliance with the Russian President's Decree No. 172 dated March 31, 2022," the statement said. No payment has been received from Shell Energy Europe for gas delivered in April either.
In 2021, Gazprom Export supplied 1.97 bln cubic meters of gas to Orsted Salg & Service, which made up about two-thirds of Denmark's total gas consumption, according to Gazprom. The contract between Gazprom Export and Shell Energy Europe Limited provides for supplies of up to 1.2 bln cubic meters of gas to Germany per year.
Payments for gas supplied since April 1 must be made in rubles via new account details, of which the counterparties were duly informed, Gazprom noted.
On Tuesday, Gazprom Export said that starting June 1 it would suspend contracted supplies of Russian gas to Orsted, as well as to the European subsidiary of the British Shell, Shell Energy Europe Limited, due to the fact that both companies failed to pay for gas supplied in April and refused to make payments in rubles.
Orsted said earlier it had been preparing for this scenario, adding that it was filling up its storage facilities in Denmark and Germany.