Cut Off by Moscow, Poland Gets Russian Gas From Its Allies

(Bloomberg) -- Just a week after being cut off by Moscow, Poland has found a way of getting its hands on Russian gas.

The Eastern European nation is now receiving Russian fuel from its allies, according to Sergei Kupriyanov, a spokesman for Gazprom PJSC. The gas is being ordered by buyers in Italy and France, and supplied through pipelines crossing Poland, he said. 

Russia cut gas supplies to Poland last week after Warsaw refused to comply with its demands that gas should now be paid for in rubles. While the EU has said submitting to Moscow's new terms would be a breach of sanctions, other European countries are still looking for possible workarounds as their payment deadlines are yet to fall due.

Gazprom had previously warned that it would reduce transit to countries supplying its gas to Poland, should the Eastern European nation siphon off supplies. It's unclear if and how Gazprom will now respond. 

Poland, Bulgaria Can Only Ensure Gas Supply If Others Avoid Halt

Poland is receiving the gas via so-called virtual reverse flows, Kupriyanov said in a statement. That's when grid operators net the gas quantities contracted for transmission in both directions. Germany has also supplied some Russian gas to the Eastern European nation by reversing the direction of a key pipeline.

Kupriyanov said Poland is using some of this gas to fill its storage facilities, which are already 80% full. That compares with about about 36% for the whole of the European Union, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed. 

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With assistance from Bloomberg