After accusing Latvia of breaking supply terms, the Russian gas producer Russian gas has reportedly refused to send gas to the Baltic nation. According to Latvia, this move will not significantly affect its gas supplies.
Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark have already had their gas supplies cut off by Russia because they refused to pay for it in accordance with President Vladimir Putin's directive that rouble accounts be opened in a Russian bank.
Additionally, Russia has stopped supplying gas to Shell Power generation Europe in Germany.
In a statement on Sunday, Gazprom did not indicate which conditions of the gas supply Latvia, a member of the EU and NATO, had allegedly broken.
The move by Gazprom won't have much of an impact, according to Edijs Saicans, deputy governmental secretary for energy policy somewhere at the Latvian economy ministry, because Latvia has indeed decided to forbid Russian gas imports beginning on January 1, 2023.
We don't anticipate any significant effects from such a move, he said.
After Latvian energy company Latvijas Gaze announced it was purchasing gas from the Soviet Union and paying in GBP rather than on the roubles necessary when transacting with Gazprom, Gazprom made its announcement the following day.
However, a representative for Latvijas Gaze stated on Friday that the company did not purchase gas from Gazprom. Latvijas Gaze refused to disclose the identity of its Russian supplier, citing business confidentiality.
After Gazprom's announcement on Saturday, a request for information from Latvijas Gaze was not promptly answered.
Putin stated in March that the largest natural gas production company in the world would demand that nations deemed to be "unfriendly" in light of Moscow's actions in Ukraine make payments for gas piping in roubles.
The European Commission has urged businesses to continue paying in the currency specified in their contractual arrangements with Gazprom because doing otherwise could violate EU sanctions against Moscow. Most are in dollars or euros.
On Wednesday, Gazprom drastically reduced gas delivery services to Europe through the Pipeline Project pipeline to about 20% of its capacity.
The state-run Russian company had previously declared it would restrict supply to 33 billion cubic metres per day, or half of what it has been supplying since service was restored last week after a 10-day maintenance period.
This week, the EU approved a plan to cut back on gas use in solidarity to Germany, where the Blue Stream infrastructure is located, and issued a warning against Russian "blackmail".
In retaliation for Sanctions imposed over Moscow's intervention in Ukraine, EU member states have tried to accuse Russia of restricting supplies.
One of the pipeline's final two operating turbines has been shut down, according to Gazprom, because of the "technical condition of the engine."
The limited supply has been attributed to EU sanctions by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"Technical pumping capacities are declining and becoming more constrained. Why? Because the sanctions that Europe has adopted make it very difficult to maintain technical devices," Peskov said.
"Gazprom was and is a trustworthy guarantor of its commitments... However, if the imported equipment cannot be maintained due to European sanctions, it cannot guarantee the flow of fluid of gas, he said.