Sanctions issued by the EU on 24 June prohibit the purchase or import of liquified natural gas originating from Russia through European Union terminals that are not connected to the EU gas network. The prohibition has come into force on 26 July, which means that Gasum will no longer import LNG from Russia.
On Monday, 24 June 2024 the Council of the European Union approved the 14th sanctions package against Russia. The package includes a prohibition to purchase or import liquified natural gas originating from Russia through European Union terminals that are not connected to the EU gas network.
The prohibition included in the sanctions package has come into force 26 July 2024. Gasum complies with all sanctions imposed by the EU and has accordingly ceased all purchases of Russian LNG.
Gasum has a long-term LNG supply contract with Russian gas company Gazprom Export which was concluded before 2022. The LNG supply contract is a so-called take-or-pay agreement, which means that Gasum has been obligated to pay for a certain amount of gas each year to Gazprom Export, whether it is collected or not.
The sanctions adopted by the EU do not allow Gasum to terminate its agreement with Gazprom Export but constitute a force majeure on the purchase or import of Russian LNG to off-grid terminals.
LNG availability is secured
Gasum procures LNG from a number of different sources. Gasum has a long-term sourcing agreement with, for example, the Risavika liquefaction plant in Norway. In addition to Norway, Gasum procures liquefied natural gas (LNG) globally through terminals in Central Europe.
The majority of the LNG directly sourced by Gasum has already previously come from other sources than Russia. This change does not pose any issues in terms of LNG availability to Gasum’s customers, as Gasum is able to source the required amounts of LNG from other countries.
Gasum has also previously had a long-term pipeline natural gas supply contract with Gazprom Export. No pipeline-led natural gas has been coming from Russia since May 2022 and Gasum terminated the contract in May 2023.
Source: Gasum