European companies demand €18 billion in compensation from Russian Gazprom
Pravda Ukraine
European energy companies have filed lawsuits against Gazprom, seeking a total of €18 billion in compensation for the termination of gas supplies. This amount is nearly double the Russian energy giant’s available cash reserves.
Source: Russian news agency Interfax
Details: The largest claim, amounting to €14.3bn, was filed by the German company Uniper. In June 2024, the Stockholm arbitration court ruled fully in Uniper’s favour. Poland’s Europol Gaz is demanding €1.55bn for losses incurred due to the shutdown of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline. Other claimants include:
- Engie (France): €305 million
- OMV (Austria): €575 million
- CEZ (Czechia): €58 million
- ZSE Energia and Vychodoslovenska energetika (Slovakia): €9 million and €4 million, respectively
- DXT Commodities (Switzerland): €385 million
- Axpo Solutions (Switzerland): €623 million
Gazprom has responded with 13 counterclaims in the St Petersburg arbitration court in an attempt to block proceedings outside Russia.
The total amount of claims is nearly equivalent to Gazprom’s annual revenue from gas exports, which includes US$10bn from sales to Europe and Türkiye, US$7bn from exports to China, and US$2bn from deliveries to CIS and Central Asian countries.
As of 30 September 2024, Gazprom’s financial reserves stood at 933 billion roubles (approximately US$10.8bn), which covers only half of the outstanding claims.
Background:
- Gazprom has been ordered to pay Czech semi-state energy company ČEZ over CZK 1bn (more than €40m) in compensation for failing to meet its contractual gas supply obligations.
- Meanwhile, gas deliveries via the TurkStream pipeline reached a historic high of over 50 million cubic metres per day after the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine was halted in January 2025.
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