Russia cuts 90 per cent of gas supply to Austria

Vienna - Russia cut its supply of natural gas to Austria by 90 per cent Monday night, Austrian oil and gas supplier OMV AG said Tuesday.

The reduction came amid Ukraine's conflict with Russian state gas company Gazprom, which pipes its gas to Western Europe through the Ukraine.

OMV would be able to keep up its delivery to end customers by using its stock of 1.7 billion cubic metres, the company said.

"That way, the supply situation is secured," said Werner Auli, one of OMV's chief executives.

However, the amount of natural gas piped from Austria to Hungary fell on Tuesday, illustrating the effects of the spat between the Ukraine and Russia.

Some 8 billion cubic metres of natural gas are consumed in Austria per year, 51 percent of which is supplied by Russia. (dpa)

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