EU country profiting from Russian gas – Bloomberg

Austria has become a net energy exporter for the first time in twenty years as stable supplies of Russian natural gas allowed it to sell more electricity than it imported, Bloomberg reported this week.  

While most EU countries slashed imports of Russian gas over the Ukraine conflict, Austria, which covers about 80% of its domestic consumption with fuel from the sanctions-hit country, actually ramped up purchases.   

Austria’s imports of Russian gas hit pre-conflict levels last year, as it bought almost double the amount of gas its economy needed, the outlet said. Increased shipments allowed traders to sell more than 90 terawatt hours of electricity abroad.  

The numbers highlight the “uneven impact” of the energy crisis which, on one hand, forced companies and households to reduce power consumption, while on the other helped Austrian state-owned companies OMV and Verbund profit from electricity exports, Bloomberg noted.   

In 2023, the firms sold more energy to Austria’s neighbors for the first time since 2003, according to the state regulator for electricity and natural gas markets.   

Exports of electricity climbed almost 9% to 21.62 terawatt hours, whereas imports dropped 25% to 21.55 terawatt hours, the regulator revealed.  

According OMV, Russia's Gazprom supplied all of the agreed-upon volumes of gas under a long-term contract. OMV bought 5.3 terawatt hours a month in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed.  

Even though profits at both OMV and Verbund are subject to windfall taxes, OMV announced it would pay dividends that are more than 50% higher than expected, while Verbund, which is due to post its full-year earnings next month, raised its earnings forecast in November.

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