EU demands $17 billion from Gazprom for undelivered gas
Cutting off gas to European countries in an attempt to "freeze" customers in the only major export market could cost Gazprom dearly
European companies are filing claims against russian Gazprom one after another to recover damages, the total amount of which could exceed $17 billion as of May 2023.
Source. This was reported by Reuters.
On Thursday, Polish Europol Gaz announced the start of arbitration proceedings with Gazprom. The company, which operated the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which pumped gas from Western Siberia to consumers in Germany, is demanding 6 billion zlotys, or $1.45 billion.
This amount includes overdue payments for gas transportation of 850 million zlotys and another 5 billion zlotys in "lost profits," said Jacek Sasin, Minister of State Assets of Poland.
About 10 companies have already filed lawsuits against Gazprom. The record-breaking one – for $12.5 billion – came from German Uniper, which bought 20 billion cubic meters of gas from russia annually.
As the largest importer of russian gas in Germany and one of the investors in the Nord Stream 2 project, Uniper was on the verge of bankruptcy and was de facto nationalized after losing a key supplier and being forced to buy fuel at soaring prices on the spot market. The German government spent 29 billion euros to rescue the company.
RWE, another German gas importer that used to receive 1 billion cubic meters a year, is demanding another $1 billion from Gazprom.
French Engie demanded about $1.3 billion from Gazprom, taking into account imports of 2 billion cubic meters per year, BCS analyst Ronald Smith estimated earlier.
Italian Eni filed a lawsuit in May without disclosing its amount. However, given the volume of purchases – about 20 billion euros – it could be in the billions of euros, just like German importers.
As of the end of February, claims against Gazprom from European customers reached $15 billion, and after lawsuits from Eni and Europol Gaz, they reached at least $17 billion.
Last year, Gazprom lost half of its gas exports due to the requirement to pay for Russian gas in rubles. Sales to foreign markets were the lowest since the last years of the USSR.
This year, according to the forecast, gas exports will be halved and amount to only 50 billion cubic meters. Of these, 22 billion cubic meters will be delivered to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline, while exports to Europe and Turkey will drop to 28 billion cubic meters, a threefold drop compared to 2022. Its total volume may be the lowest since the mid-1970s.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
