OMV has announced the immediate termination of its long-term natural gas supply contract with Gazprom Export due to multiple fundamental breaches of contractual obligations.
The contract, which began in 2006 and was set to run until 2040, has been terminated following Gazprom Export's cessation of gas deliveries to OMV since 16 November 2024.
Before the halt in deliveries, OMV received approximately 7,400 megawatt-hours (MWh) per hour, equating to around five terawatt-hours per month, at the Austrian-Slovakian border.
The termination of this contract significantly reduces the risk exposure of OMV Gas Marketing & Trading (OGMT).
OMV chairman of the executive board and CEO Alfred Stern said: “It is OMV’s key priority to always be a reliable supplier to our customers in any markets and countries we operate in. Being fully cognisant of this profound responsibility, we have continuously implemented our diversification strategy for gas supply sources and additional pipeline capacities.
“Thanks to the successful efforts by our gas taskforce team during the past three years, OMV is very well positioned to draw on our diversified portfolio of alternative gas sources, safeguarding supply security for our customers.”
OMV has diversified its gas supply over the past three years, replacing the contract's supply volumes with alternative sources.
The contract had a single-digit million euros margin potential per annum. OMV's gas portfolio now includes supplies from its own production in Norway and Austria, third-party producers and additional long-term LNG volumes.
OMV's gas storage in Austria is currently at around 85% capacity, allowing the company to fulfil all its customer contracts using alternative gas sources.
This move is part of OMV’s ongoing diversification strategy.
In a related development, Uniper, a German energy company, officially ended its gas supply contracts with Gazprom Export in June.
This followed an arbitration tribunal ruling on 7 June 2024, which allowed Uniper to terminate the contracts. The tribunal awarded Uniper more than €13bn ($13.66bn) in damages for undelivered gas volumes since mid-2022.
The arbitration decision, legally binding, permits Uniper to conclude contracts originally set to last until the mid-2030s.
