Russia to suspend gas supplies to Poland

The Polish state gas company said that Russia will stop sending gas to Poland on Wednesday.

All gas deliveries to the country will be stopped from 08:00CET on September 7th, according to the company.

The suspension was justified by the new rules that mean unfriendly countries must pay for gas in roubles.

This has been refused by the company.

In the first quarter of this year, the Russian company bought more than half of the gas imports from the Polish company.

The company would take steps to restore the flow of gas after the suspension was described as a breach of contract.

There is no immediate threat to gas supplies in Poland.

With summer approaching, demand for gas is lower than usual.

The Swinoujscie Liquefied Natural Gas terminal is an alternative supply source for Poland.

On 1 May, Poland will be able to get access to gas from the Lithuania'sliquefied natural gas terminal.

It can buy gas on the European spot market and deliver it to Germany and the Czech Republic.

The country will probably have to restrict gas supplies to its largest consumers, such as chemical manufacturers, if Russian gas supplies remain suspended for several weeks.

Poland planned to stop buying Russian gas by the end of the year, when its long-term supply contract with Gazprom expired.

The Baltic Pipe, a new gas line from Norway, will come online in October. It could replace all Russian deliveries by the end of the year.