Stop valve at the compressor station. File photoHELSINKI, May 21. Russian gas supplies to Finland stopped at 7:00 am Gazprom Export notified energy company Gasum Oy on May 20 that natural gas supplies to the country would stop on the morning of May 21. According to the Ministry of Employment and Economy of Finland, the reason is that Helsinki did not agree to pay for gas in rubles.Finnish Gasum will start proceedings in court under a contract with Gazprom. Under a long-term agreement, the currency of payment is the euro. According to the ministry, Gasum decided to apply to arbitration, since, in its opinion, the Russian side violates the terms of the agreement with its demand. It is emphasized that Finland has prepared to reduce imports of blue fuel from its eastern neighbor, but substitution is not without problems. But the agency maintains that the direct gas needs of residential consumers will be met in any situation, as well as the needs of the main services of society. «Energy companies can switch, and some have already switched from gas to other types of fuel on market terms. When Russian imports stop, industrial enterprises using gas will be different. Some of them have already switched to other fuels, some are switching to gas from the Baltic countries through the Balticconnector pipeline,» the agency informs. The Balticconnector between Finland and Estonia allows you to import gas from the Baltic countries. Finland will also receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) through terminals in Tornio and Pori. In addition, they plan to complete the construction of an LNG terminal in Hamina in the autumn. Finland also leased an LNG terminal vessel, Finnish Gasgrid Finland Oy and American Excelerate Energy, Inc. previously signed a ten-year treaty. The terminal is scheduled to be operational by winter and will be located in southern Finland.Finland is ready to pay dearly for joining NATO Since April 1, Moscow began to accept payments for gas from unfriendly states in rubles in order to get away from settlements in dollars and euros. President Vladimir Putin clarified that the refusal to operate in the Russian currency would be considered as a default on the obligations under the contracts. Since April 27, Gazprom has suspended fuel exports to Bulgaria and Poland due to non-payment. At the same time, the company warned that it would reduce transit to other countries if Sofia and Warsaw began illegal fuel sampling. After the start of the Russian special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, the West increased sanctions pressure on Moscow. Many countries have announced the freezing of Russian assets, and calls to abandon energy sources have become louder. All this has already turned into problems for the US and Europe, provoking an increase in fuel and food prices. gas, write the media
