Comment Russian state gas giant Gazprom has warned some European customers that it can no longer guarantee supply to the continent, the latest jump in an economic row between Moscow and Europe over the war in Ukraine. The alert, first reported by Reuters and confirmed by two German energy companies on Tuesday, was dated Thursday and retroactively declared a force majeure on gas supplies to June 14. Gazprom told European customers it was no longer responsible for any gas shortages due to “exceptional circumstances”, Reuters reported, citing a copy of the letter. The legal move comes amid a growing energy crisis in Europe, where many countries rely on Russian gas even as they seek to pressure Moscow economically. Force majeure is a standard contract provision that relieves parties of responsibility for fulfilling their commitments in the event of extreme events — such as war, storms or fires — beyond the company’s control. In its appeal, Gazprom claims it should not be held responsible for breaching promised gas shipments to Europe in the context of the war. Natural gas deliveries through the Nord Stream pipeline have been interrupted for a week as the pipeline undergoes scheduled maintenance — but even before that, the flow of natural gas from Russia to Europe had slowed dramatically. Gazprom reduced gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 to 40 percent of its capacity on June 14, a date the company later pointed to as the onset of force majeure. Uniper, Germany’s largest importer of Russian gas, confirmed to The Washington Post that it received a notice from Gazprom “in which the company retroactively claims force majeure for past and current shortfalls in gas deliveries,” a Uniper spokesman wrote in an email. “We consider this to be unjustified and have formally rejected the claim of force majeure.” RWE, Germany’s largest electricity producer, also received a force majeure letter from Gazprom, spokeswoman Stephanie Schunck confirmed to The Post. She declined to comment further. Gazprom could not immediately be reached for comment. The legal maneuver has raised concerns about the future of Russian gas supplies to Europe at a time when tensions over energy security are already high. The gas supply cut has hit Uniper hard, with the company losing tens of millions of euros a day since Moscow cut production capacity in June, the New York Times reported. The company, which tapped a 2 billion euro credit line from Germany’s state investment bank on Monday, is seeking additional credit and an emergency bailout from the German government. Gazprom blamed Western sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine for the reduced supply, pointing to a missing turbine that was sent to Canada for repairs and could not be sent back to Russia because of economic sanctions. Germany disputed the idea that the absence of a turbine caused the dramatic cut. Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that Canada sent the turbine by plane on Sunday to Germany, which will then send it to Russia next week. Fears in Europe have intensified in recent days that Russia may not restart gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1 after scheduled maintenance is scheduled to end on Thursday. Gazprom has not committed to doing so. “Russia continues to use natural gas as a political and economic weapon,” White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said at a press conference on Tuesday. “Russia’s energy erosion has put pressure on energy markets, raised prices for consumers and threatened global energy security.” However, it remains unclear whether the concerns are justified. The declaration of force majeure has “little significance” beyond the legal dispute, said Jens Sudekum, an economics professor at Düsseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University and an adviser to Germany’s climate and energy ministry. Ultimately, no one knows yet what decision Russian President Vladimir Putin will make on whether to return to natural gas supplies, he said. “We will only know how to interpret what Gazprom says when we know what happens at the end of the week,” said Philipp Heilmaier, head of the future energy supply division at the German Energy Agency. Loveday Morris contributed to this report.
