Economic sanctions against Russia could lead to an increase in the cost of gas, which would particularly affect southeastern European countries, the CEO of Austrian oil and gas giant OMV said Thursday.

Gerhard Roiss told the Kurier Newspaper that Europe had already let down countries in that area with the collapse of the Nabucco pipeline project, and could now be leaving them in bad situation again.

He said abandoning Russian gas would lead to a gas shortage and subsequent price increase, and bring up the question of whether families in countries such as Bulgaria and Slovakia could afford heating in winter.

He added that this then made it a "European problem." In addition, it could also lead to higher prices for consumers and industry in countries such as Germany.

Roiss warned there are not enough pipelines to secure European gas supply from other sources, and despite large gas finds such as in the Black Sea, it would take another one to two years to find out just how much gas there is, and only then would one know how many additional pipelines would be needed.