German Uniper demands $15 billion from Gazprom for undelivered gas
Uniper was followed by French Engie, Italian Eni and RWE, which filed lawsuits against Gazprom
The German concern Uniper, formerly the largest buyer of Russian gas in Germany, is demanding more than $15 billion from Gazprom as compensation for the losses the company suffered due to Moscow's violation of gas contracts.
Reuters reports this, citing sources familiar with the details of the claim, which Uniper filed with the Stockholm Arbitration Court at the end of 2022.
According to the agency's interlocutors, the German company, which purchased 20 bcm of gas from Gazprom annually, is awaiting a court verdict in the coming months.
"In the autumn of 2022, Gazprom stopped supplying Uniper after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin demanded that contracts be paid for in rubles. As a result, the company was forced to buy gas on the spot market at prices that soared to record highs and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The German government allocated more than €29 billion to save Uniper from collapse and then was forced to nationalise the company, which, in addition to importing from Gazprom, was also one of the investors in the Nord Stream 2 project.
Following the court ruling, Uniper plans to cancel its contracts with the Russian gas monopoly, which were supposed to be valid until 2035, Reuters sources said.
Uniper was followed by French Engie, Italian Eni, and RWE, another German gas importer that received 1 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia per year.
In May 2023, Poland's Europol Gaz also demanded compensation for losses from Gazprom. The company that operated the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which pumped gas from Western Siberia to consumers in Germany, demanded PLN 6 billion, or $1.45 billion, for breach of contract.
Background. It was also reported that the Finnish company will demand "billions of euros" in compensation for the business taken away by Russia – Fortum called Russia's actions a violation of international law.
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