by Julia Payne
LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) – Gazprom has declared force majeure on gas deliveries to Europe to at least one major customer, according to a July 14 letter from the Russian state gas supplier seen by Reuters on Monday. .
The letter says Gazprom, which has a monopoly on Russian gas exports via pipeline, was unable to meet its supply obligations due to “extraordinary” circumstances beyond its control.
It specifies that this case of force majeure, a clause invoked when a company is struck by an event beyond its control, applies to deliveries from June 14.
The letter concerns deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, an important supply route in Germany and beyond, according to a source.
Gazprom did not immediately comment.
The move risks heightening tensions between Russia and the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
The European Union, which has imposed sanctions on Moscow, aims to stop using Russian fossil fuels by 2027, but wants the supply to continue for now.
Russian gas supplies have plummeted via major routes, including Ukraine, Belarus and Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 1 is currently undergoing maintenance. (Report Julia Payne; French version Charlotte Lavin, editing by Kate Entringer)
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