Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Natural-gas suppliers in Germany, Europe’s biggest energy market, expect to maintain deliveries of the heating fuel even as stockpiles fall to a seven-month low and Russia threatens to halt shipments to Ukraine.

Utilities E.ON AG and RWE AG and gas provider Wingas GmbH said customers won’t experience any disruption in supply, when contacted today by Bloomberg News. Storage levels in Germany fell to 66 percent of capacity in the week to today, the lowest since May, according to Gas Storage Europe.

OAO Gazprom, the Russian gas exporter that provides 35 percent of Germany’s supply, may shut off supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 if an agreement over that country’s gas debt isn’t reached. German energy providers say they expect stockpiles to last for about three months and can source the fuel from Norway, the U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands and domestic producers.

“We will definitely be able to guarantee supplies to our customers,” said Kai Krischnak, a spokesman for Essen, Germany- based E.ON Ruhrgas AG, the gas unit of the country’s largest utility. “This conflict has been going on for a few years, but there have never been notable disruptions.”

Gazprom cut gas deliveries to Ukraine in January 2006 amid a pricing dispute. That led to shortfalls in some European countries and called into question Russia’s reliability as an energy supplier. Gazprom supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas, most of which passes through Ukraine.

RWE Covers Demand

RWE, which competes with E.ON and holds 15 percent of Germany’s gas-storage capacity, will also keep clients supplied, according to company spokesman Martin Pack. Gas is used to heat homes and businesses and to fire machinery and power plants.

Wingas, the operator of Europe’s biggest gas-storage site, doesn’t expect a supply cut to reduce profit, according to spokesman Nicholas Neu. The company, a unit of BASF SE, can maintain deliveries for “several weeks,” based on existing capacities, Neu said today by phone. About 60 percent of Wingas’s gas comes from Russia, and more than half of that travels through Poland rather than Ukraine, he added.

GasTerra BV, a gas-trading venture between the Dutch state, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., also won’t be affected by any Russian move to halt supplies because it sources the fuel by the same route, spokesman Ben Warner said.

Russian gas deliveries to the Netherlands are about the equivalent of 5 percent of total Dutch supply, Warner said today in a telephone interview.

Gazprom to Meet Contracts

Gazprom today pledged to meet contractual obligations to European consumers while seeking to resolve the dispute with Ukraine. The company will “fulfill completely its commitments to European gas consumers,” the exporter said today in an e-mailed statement following a board meeting in Moscow.

OMV AG, the biggest gas supplier in neighboring Austria, said last week it’s prepared for a drop in deliveries and has stockpiled 1.75 billion cubic meters (61.8 billion cubic feet) of the fuel. That’s enough to meet demand for three months over the winter period, spokeswoman Michaela Huber said.

Gas stockpiles in the Baumgarten region, which includes Austria, were at 6.2 billion cubic meters this week, also the lowest since May, according to Gas Storage Europe. GSE is part of an association that represents gas-transport and storage companies and operators of liquefied natural gas terminals.

Energy suppliers in Europe tend to build up stockpiles mid- year when consumption falls, and pump the fuel out of storage when colder winter weather increases heating demand.

Italy was forced to tap strategic reserves in February 2006 after the price dispute between Russia and Ukraine led to a supply shortage. Russia accounted for 31 percent of Italy’s gas imports last year, according to the Italian Electricity & Gas Authority, a regulator. Italy produced 13 percent of its gas.

Calls to the Italian Industry Ministry and Eni SpA, the country’s biggest oil company, went unanswered.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt at ncomfort1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 29, 2008 08:09 EST