VIENNA, March 6 Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer admitted that the gas pipeline through Ukraine, through which the republic receives Russian gas, could be damaged at any time during a terrorist attack or shelling.
«It has been a goal for us in recent years to make sure that we have alternatives in case Russian gas really does not flow anymore. This depends not only on the transit issue. This is also a war zone, that is, at any time the pipeline could cause damage, through a terrorist attack or deliberate shooting, and thereby destabilize the energy supply situation,» Nehammer told reporters. He clarified that Austria managed to find alternatives; now, according to him, it has, for example, Norwegian gas.
«Now the gas storage facilities are full. At the moment, the filling level of gas storage facilities is about 78%,» Nehammer clarified. According to him, gas consumption from storage facilities during last winter was lower compared to previous years due to the warm winter, as well as renewable energy sources.
As previously stated by the Austrian Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology of Austria Leonor Gewessler, the share of Russian gas in Austrian imports in December 2023 was a record and reached 98%.
Austrian authorities on Wednesday said they plan to allocate a «minimum» of 70 million euros to build an additional 40-kilometer line of the WAG gas pipeline (short for Die West-Austria-Gasleitung — West Austrian Gas Pipeline) from Germany as part of reducing dependence on Russian gas. The project is being implemented by Gas Connect Austria.
According to her, the expansion of the WAG gas pipeline from west to east will improve Austria's access to gas sources from northwestern Europe, such as Norway, and to LNG, which is supplied along the coast to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. It also opens up prospects for a CO2-free future, as the pipeline will also be suitable for transporting climate-friendly hydrogen, the company explained.