Despite the obligations and unfinished deals, the European country still plans to increase the volume of Russian gas imports next year.

Greek Environment and Energy Minister Theodoros Skilakakis said on November 4 that the country's gas company is negotiating with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom on prices and terms of Russian natural gas supplies in 2024.

Bộ trưởng Bộ Môi trường và Năng lượng Hy Lạp Theodoros Skilakakis. (Nguồn: OT)

Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Theodoros Skilakakis highlighted the complex issue of Russian gas. Illustrative photo. (Source: OT)

Minister Skilakakis confirmed that representatives of the Greek state gas company DEPA Emporias and Gazprom are discussing a “take and pay” clause – paying a fine for the volume of gas that the Greek company did not take, despite its obligations.

Complex problem

Mr. Skilakakis is concerned about the price and market share of Russian gas in the Greek market. “Europe has reduced the volume of Russian gas from 40% to 9%, but the situation in Greece is different,” he said.

However, the minister stressed that “Russian gas is a complicated issue” and negotiations with Gazprom are ongoing.

Mr Skilakakis made it clear that the Russian company had not complied with the terms of the contract regarding the selling price at DEPA Commerce. “There were conditions regarding the selling price of gas compared to other suppliers,” he said.

According to Greek media, unnamed officials stated that Gazprom cannot sell gas to another customer on the Greek market at a lower price than the contract signed with DEPA Commerce.

For his part, Minister Skilakakis stressed the complexity of the issue related to Europe's policy of restricting purchases of Russian gas.

At the same time, while the negotiations are ongoing, Mr. Skilakakis refused to answer the question of whether it is possible to stop the supply of Russian gas.

In addition to the state-owned DEPA Commerce, Russian natural gas is also imported into Greece by Copelouzos Group and Mytilineos Group.

It is known that in the first 9 months of 2023, Russian gas via the Turkish Stream pipeline and by sea accounted for 40% of total Greek imports and could increase to 60%, according to local media.

The "war" for gas

According to a post on the OT (Greece) online newspaper, in fact, over the past few weeks, there has been a “war” over Russian gas between Greece and the Balkan countries.

With a “transit cost” of 10.20 euros per megawatt hour, Russian gas can travel through the country's pipeline network to other European countries.

For the Greek side, there is a problem with the Russian supplier's compliance with the terms of the contract. According to sources, this is because Gazprom was obliged to sell gas to DEPA cheaper than to all its other customers in Greece. But it did not do so. In addition, sources note that the Russian side is seeking to activate the "take or return" clause, which would allow it to recall the product sold to DEPA and, accordingly, its customers would be burdened with 200 million euros for the volume of gas that was supposed to be purchased but did not buy, "the article writes.

The article reads: “ Government sources point out that gas consumption has decreased, so it is not possible to accept the entire agreed volume. On the other hand, they assert that the Russian side, although it should have offered DEPA a competitive price compared to its competitors, has not done so.”

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