Gazprom weaseled out of a dispute over six billion zlotys with Poland and committed a seppuku

The arbitration court in St. Petersburg refused the owner of the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline to take its case to the arbitration court in Stockholm. The Poles wanted to sue Gazprom in Sweden over six billion zlotys. Russians talk about Russophobia in Europe, but they undermine their credibility in relations with European partners.

EuRoPol Gaz is the sanctioned owner of the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline with a 48 percent stake owned by PGNiG, 48 percent held Gazprom and 4 in the hands of Gas Trading owned by PGNiG. The Ministry of Development and Technology first ordered the freezing and then the takeover of Gazprom’s shares by Poles for energy security reasons and as part of sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, the owner of the Yamal in Poland, with the support of the Ministry of State Assets, demanded PLN 848 million in claims for gas transmission and PLN 5,357 billion for profits lost until 2045 due to the cessation of supplies from Russia via the Yamal gas pipeline in Poland, despite a transmission agreement from the past that was to be valid until then with a ship or pay clause. The Russians stopped gas supplies to and through Poland in May 2022. They terminated supply contracts with PGNiG and stopped buying access to Yamal on the capacity reservation platform available under EU rules, which replaced the transmission contract in 2020.

Gazprom refuses to participate in arbitration in Stockholm, where it has already lost a number of disputes, including with the Polish PGNiG about the terms of gas supplies. The Russian company believes that since the trial would take place in hostile country that has imposed sanctions against Russia it would not be fair. According to the company, it lost its rights in Europe because of “russophobia “. However, arbitration in Stockholm and other places is a legal form of settling disputes over gas supplies in the Western world. Questioning it could undermine the credibility of Gazprom, whose market share in Europe fell from 45 percent in 2021 to 15 percent in the first half of 2023.

Neftegaz.ru/ Wojciech Jakóbik