Lithuania’s state-owned gas supply company Ignitis says it will stop buying Gazprom’s gas and will make no payments to the Russian government-owned group after president Pootin said Russia would only accept payments in rubles for gas deliveries to EU countries.
“We are not planning any payments to Gazprom, so it is not relevant for us,” Arturas Ketlerius, head of public relations at Ignitis Group, said.
Ignitis has not purchased any gas from Gazprom for Lithuanian needs since the start of the year, according to the spokesman. However, some gas has been purchased for Latvian and Estonian customers and stored at the Incukalns storage facility in Latvia.
Last year, gas purchased from Gazprom accounted for less than a third of Ignitis’ total gas portfolio, Ketlerius said.
In Lithuania, Gazprom’s gas is probably still purchased by the nitrogen fertilizer plant Achema, the country’s largest gas consumer, and possibly smaller customers.
Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has said recently that Lithuania could survive without Gazprom gas, but continued to purchase it because of “certain technical issues”.
Amber Grid, Lithuania’s natural gas transmission system operator, receives payments from Gazprom for the transit of gas to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
Laura Sebekiene, head of communications at Amber Grid, said that the last payment from Gazprom came in euros in March, as provided for in the contract, with the next payment due in April.
Amber Grid’s ship-or-pay contract with Gazprom will expire in late 2025.
Pootin said on March 23 that Russia would only accept payments in rubles for gas deliveries to “unfriendly countries”, which included all EU members, after Moscow was hit by unprecedented sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
