Gas supplies from Russia to Romania are down by around a third due to Russia’s decision to cut off supplies to Ukraine, Romanian officials said on Monday.
Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 in a long-standing dispute over debts and prices. European consumers depend on Russia for a quarter of their natural gas, most of which transits through Ukraine.
Starting last Friday, Russian gas supplies to Romania dropped by around 30-40 percent.
“The reduced gas inflows may continue until next Sunday”, said Ioan Rusu , director of pipeline operator Transgaz. Officials say the Balkan country has enough gas for its needs even at a time of high demand, when daytime temperatures have plunged to between -10 and -15 Celsius in recent days in parts of central Romania.