Denmark refuses to pay for Russian gas in rubles; Orsted warns Russia may cut supply

As Denmark refuses to pay for the Russian gas supply in Rubles, its state gas corporation Orsted has warned that Kremlin's Gazprom could cut off the gas exports totally, making Demark the next country after Finland to face the repercussions. Amidst the looming crisis, the firm noted in a statement on Monday that it expects to secure an alternative source of gas supply in the European wholesale market where it can pay in Euros.

The Danish energy firm, in an official statement, warned the EU nation of the looming risks, although adding that the refusal may not have "any immediate supply consequences" for Denmark if Russia were to halt sales of gas to Orsted. 

Moscow may not be able to 'immediately' halt gas supply to Denmark 

Denmark's gas corporation stated that there is no gas pipeline directly from Russia to Denmark, which implies Moscow may not be able to immediately halt the gas supply which could buy Denmark more time to explore the alternatives. “Gazprom Export continues to demand that Orsted pays for gas supplies in rubles,” Orsted said in a statement. “We have no legal obligation under the contract to do so, and we have repeatedly informed Gazprom Export that we will not do so," it added, expressing a united stance on the EU's proposed sanctions to cut the reliance on Russian energy. Danish Energy Agency also notified that it has an emergency plan in case the country was hit with a gas shortage if Russia's Gazprom stopped the export. 

“We have been preparing for this scenario to minimize the risk to Orsted’s gas customers, which are primarily major companies in Denmark and Sweden,” the company Orsted said.

"We have been preparing for this scenario to minimise the risk of Ørsted's gas customers, which are primarily major companies in Denmark and Sweden, experiencing shortfalls in gas supplies," it went on to add. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Poland, Bulgaria and Finland have all refused to comply with Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian gas in Rubles citing the violation of the existing contracts that mention that payment can be made in Euros or Dollars. Finnish state gas company Gasum had earlier announced that Russian energy corporation Gazprom has informed it is halting the supply of natural gas to Finland effective May 21. Gasum said that it will now supply natural gas to its customers from other sources through the Balticconnector pipeline. Gasum had similarly refused to pay for Russian gas in Rubles.