Greece makes plans for additional gas supply as Ukraine tensions rise

Greece has made plans to receive additional natural gas to avert a disruption of supply amid heightened tensions in Ukraine, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Western nations on Tuesday punished Russia with new sanctions for ordering troops into regions of eastern Ukraine and threatened to go further if Moscow launched an all-out invasion.

In perhaps the most significant measure announced on Tuesday, Germany halted certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline owned by Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom , a move likely to raise gas prices in Europe.

Greece imports 40% of its gas from Russia and also has contracts with Azerbaijan and Algeria.

“We have made provisions for additional supplies of LNG and [pipeline] natural gas,” government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou told state television.

He said that Greece will try to get as much gas as it can via a pipeline which runs from Azerbaijan to Italy.

Along with Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria could also provide additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Greece, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

To stave off any disruption to its electricity output, some gas-fired plants are ready to switch to diesel, Oikonomou added. [Reuters]