German gas importer VNG to transfer euros to Russia for payment

Germany’s VNG will transfer euro payments for Russian gas to Gazprombank in the future and expects no problems during conversion to roubles, it said on May 9, meeting Moscow’s key demands under a fresh payment scheme, Report informs referring to Reuters.

VNG's first detailed comments on the matter come as European buyers of Russian gas have to navigate a new set of rules Moscow has imposed to pay for its most precious commodity, most notably a demand to pay in roubles via an elaborate scheme.

European gas buyers are concerned that adopting the new measures, under which they have to open accounts at Gazprombank for future payments, could breach sanctions law and that rejecting them could trigger major gas supply disruptions.

VNG, which is majority-owned by German regional utility EnBW, said it was taking all necessary measures, in line with existing sanctions law, to continue to ensure supply and therefore economic stability in Germany.

"We will pay the invoice amount, which will continue to be denominated in euros, into the accounts at Gazprombank in accordance with the planned procedure, so that timely payment to our supplier is ensured on our part," VNG said in an emailed statement.

"We also assume that the conversion into roubles will not cause any difficulties. At least the opening of the account went completely smoothly."