The Russian court upheld Gazprom’s claim against Naftogaz of Ukraine – Kommersant

The Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region upheld the claim of Gazprom against NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, in which the Russian company demanded to prohibit proceedings in foreign arbitration, it follows from card indexes arbitration cases.

From the case file it follows that Gazprom filed lawsuit against the Ukrainian company on December 18. As the press service of the Russian company explained to Kommersant, Gazprom’s claim demands that Naftogaz of Ukraine be prohibited from continuing the arbitration proceedings initiated in 2022 against it in the International Arbitration Court of the International Chamber of Commerce. Gazprom categorically rejects all demands of Naftogaz regarding the proceedings initiated by the Ukrainian company, the press service emphasized.

The dispute between the Russian and Ukrainian companies arose over a contract concluded in 2019. Agreement provided transit of Russian gas through Ukraine for five years. Then the Ukrainian side estimated that transit would bring Kyiv from $7 billion to $15 billion, depending on the volume of supply. At the same time it was reported that with a base pumping volume of 225 billion cubic meters. m Gazprom will pay $7.2 billion.

However, in May 2022, the Ukrainian side declared force majeure, which does not allow it to fulfill the obligations imposed by the agreement. She stopped supply of Russian gas through the Sokhranovka entry point, where, under the terms of the agreement, a third of Russian gas was supplied. Gazprom then considered the justification for the occurrence of force majeure insufficient and stated that transit services had been paid in full.

September 9, 2022 Ukrainian company filed claim to the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Paris. At that time, the head of the Ukrainian company, Yuriy Vitrenko, said that the contract was concluded on a “download or pay” basis and that the Russian side had been underpaying since May 2022.

The agreement between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine is valid until the end of 2024. Head of the Ukrainian company Alexey Chernyshev statedthat Naftogaz of Ukraine does not intend to renew the agreement. The Ukrainian transit line is a route through which Russian gas can reach Western and Central European countries.

Erdni Kagaltynov