Síkela: Some traders have begun importing Russian gas into Czechia since October

Some traders have begun importing Russian gas into Czechia since October, Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela (STAN) wrote today on social media platform X. According to him, Russian gas accounted for 79.6 million cubic metres, or 1.2 percent, of total deliveries from January to the end of October this year. Asked by the Czech News Agency (ČTK), Industry and Trade Ministry (MPO) spokesman Vojtěch Srnka said that information about specific importers is subject to commercial confidentiality.

„We do not need to import Russian gas into Czechia, and we have built up supplies for this winter without it. This week, monthly data from the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) showed us that some traders had nevertheless started importing gas from Russia since October,“ Síkela said.

Since some countries still cannot do without Russian gas, its import into the EU is not subject to sanctions, he added. „But I believe it would be right for end consumers to be informed if they are buying gas from suppliers that purchase Russian gas,“ Síkela added.

According to Srnka, the market operator OTE and Net4Gas, the operator of the Czech gas pipeline network, have information about specific importers. „However, these data are subject to commercial confidentiality,“ he told ČTK.

Data from the transfer station in Lanžhot, in the South Moravian Region, indicate that Russian gas began flowing into Czechia in October, according to Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist at Trinity Bank. „Since the beginning of October, gas at this border station has no longer been flowing from Czechia to Slovakia as it did before, but from Slovakia to Czechia. The volume has reached as much as 100 gigawatt-hours a day,“ Kovanda told ČTK today, citing information from Bloomberg. He said that up to 40 percent of the gas currently imported into Czechia comes from Russia.

According to earlier information from the MPO, Russian gas stopped flowing into Czechia at the beginning of this year. The country replaced it with gas from Norway and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Netherlands and Belgium. In previous years, Russian gas accounted for around 97 percent of imports into Czechia.

Minister Síkela reiterated on X today that Czechia had ended its dependence on Russian gas. „In light of recent developments, we need to consider whether to introduce restrictive measures at the national level or continue coordinating our approach across the EU,“ Síkela wrote.