Russia's Gazprom to reduce gas deliveries to French Engie due to disagreement
The logo of Gazprom is seen on the facade of a business center in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on March 31, 2022.
French electricity and gas company Engie announced on Tuesday that Russian energy corporation Gazprom will reduce gas deliveries from Tuesday. The move comes after a disagreement between the two companies over contracts.
Engie said in a statement that its deliveries from Gazprom have "considerably" decreased since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with a recent monthly supply of 1.5 terawatt hours (TWh) compared to the total annual supplies of Engie in Europe of over 400 TWh.
"Engie had already secured the volumes necessary to ensure the supply of its customers," Engie said, adding that it had "implemented a series of measures to significantly reduce the direct financial and physical impact that could result from an interruption in deliveries of gas by Gazprom."
However, Gazprom said on Tuesday evening that it would completely stop gas deliveries to Engie from Thursday, due to failed payments.
In his national day interview on July 14, French President Emmanuel Macron said the country is seeking to boost energy supplies by looking for gas "elsewhere," including in Algeria, the United States, Qatar and Norway.
At the beginning of August, the country's minister for energy transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher announced that France's gas reserves are 80 percent full, in preparation for possible shortages this winter.
Pannier-Runacher said that France was ahead of its goals, and the country's strategic gas reserves would be 100 percent filled by November 1.
