As a result of sanctions imposed on a Russian gas company belonging to the Russian energy group OAO Novatek, 13 municipalities in eastern Poland have been cut off from the gas supply since yesterday. These municipalities border Belarus.
This occurred following EU sanctions imposed on the company and not because Russia had shut off the Yamal valve for gas export. Due to the sanctions on Novatek Green Energy, the company decided to stop gas supply to all customers in the 13 municipalities.
As a result, in the village of Miescisko, several dozen households, all municipal institutions, and businesses—including the feed factory of the Dutch company De Heus—no longer received gas. Staff member Malgorzata Grzelazka from the company said that the Polish company is operating normally and is not affected by the cutoff.
‘The situation has no impact on our production and our ability to deliver feed to customers,’ Grzelazka emphasized to the Polish agricultural news site TPR.
She explained that thanks to the diversification of energy sources used and the adjustment of production processes, the production and delivery of animal feed is not at risk and is running smoothly. We offer our customers a full portfolio, the De Heus representative stressed.
The Polish cabinet is now working on restoring the gas supply in the 13 municipalities. Government spokesperson Piotr Mueller said that Polish suppliers will take over the gas supply after the Polish state has taken over the pipelines from the Russian company.
Poland can use coercive measures if Novatek employees threaten to block the process of taking over the facility — the spokesperson explained. He added that, depending on the pace of the pipeline takeover, restoring gas could take anywhere from several hours to multiple days.