Pressure grows on EU to probe Gazprom gas supplies to Europe this winter

Ukraine filed a complaint about Gazprom, saying it deliberately cut shipments and prevented other companies from providing extra volumes.

Gazprom's restrictions on gas supply as European demand soars is “rare behaviour,” the EU competition chief said, as pressure grows on the commission to investigate the Russian energy giant.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, said she is “eagerly awaiting” the Russian state-owned gas supplier’s answers to EU questions about supply shortages. 

MEPs and politicians have urged her to open a probe into whether Gazprom is abusing its power by potentially squeezing supplies.

It is thought-provoking that a company, in view of increasing demand, limits supply — that is quite rare behaviour in the marketplace,” Ms Vestager told a Brussels press briefing. 

“The question of energy prices is very high-priority.” 

European natural gas prices have risen to record levels in recent weeks as Russian supplies slowed in the middle of winter.

Ukraine filed a complaint about Gazprom to the EU in December, saying the Russian state-owned firm deliberately cut shipments and prevented other companies from providing extra volumes. 

The allegation comes as Russia has been building up thousands of tanks and troops near the border with Ukraine, stoking western fears of an invasion.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said last month that Gazprom is complying with long-term gas-supply deals, and that the absence of shipments on a key route in recent days reflected a lack of requests from European clients. 

Today, the price of European gas for delivery in February by over 2%, but prices look to remain stubbornly high through the summer, according to trades on London's ICE exchange. 

Bloomberg. Additional reporting Irish Examiner