Russia's Gazprom to stop gas supply to Netherlands

THE HAGUE, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia's energy company Gazprom is set to halt its gas supply to the Netherlands from Tuesday after the latter refused to pay in roubles, Dutch gas company GasTerra said Monday.

The cut-off means that 2 billion cubic meters of gas it contracted with Gazprom will not be delivered from May 31 to Sept. 30, said GasTerra in a press release.

The lost supply is about 5 percent of the annual gas consumption in the Netherlands, according to local media reports.

"GasTerra has anticipated this by buying gas from other providers," said the Dutch company, which is partly owned by the Dutch government.

"The European gas market is highly integrated and extensive," it noted, adding that it is "impossible to predict" how the lost supply will affect the supply and demand situation and "whether the European market can absorb this loss of supply without serious consequences."

Dutch Energy Minister Rob Jetten wrote on Twitter that the government understands the decision of GasTerra not to comply with Gazprom's payment terms.

"This decision has no consequences for the physical supply of gas to Dutch households," said the minister.

In April, the Dutch government announced plans to completely end purchasing Russian gas by the end of 2022. It said it will try to achieve this goal by focusing on energy conservation, renewable energy and more imports from other countries.

The Netherlands gets about 15 percent of its gas supply from Russia.