The owner of the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline, EuRoPol Gaz, is seeking over 6 billion zloty (€1.3 billion) compensation from Gazprom for losses accrued due to the Russian state energy giant halting gas deliveries last year.
The news that EuRoPol Gaz has filed a claim at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce was reported by Business Insider Polska yesterday and later confirmed by state assets minister Jacek Sasin.
📺Wicepremier @SasinJacek w @tvp_info:#EuropolGaz wystąpił z pozwem przeciwko spółce #Gazprom. Chodzi o zwrot 850 mln zł "podarowanych" Rosjanom przez naszych poprzedników i rekompensatę 5 miliardów złotych utraconych zysków▶️ pic.twitter.com/rR85B8eOKz
— Ministerstwo Aktywów Państwowych 🇵🇱 (@MAPGOVPL) May 18, 2023
The firm is demanding repayment of 848 million zloty of gas transmission fees from 2006 to 2009 redeemed to Gazprom in 2010 on the condition that the Russian operator would transmit gas until 2045 and that the Polish company would make money on these transmissions.
In addition, EuRoPol Gaz estimates around 5.4 billion zloty in revenue from gas transmission charges by 2045 lost due to Gazprom halting gas shipments to Poland in April last year following Warsaw’s refusal to pay for the fuel in roubles.
Documents seen by the Polish Press Agency (PAP) show that EuRoPol Gaz called on Gazprom at the end of April to pay the claimed amounts. After the Russian firm refused, EuRoPol Gaz applied for arbitration on 9 May. Gazprom has not yet publicly commented.
Poland is taking over Gazprom’s assets in the country, meaning the Russian firm’s share in the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline
"We're doing all we can to counteract Russia’s aggression and eliminate Russian capital and influence," says a minister https://t.co/iQ9So8LX6g
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 15, 2022
Last November, the Polish government announced that it was taking temporary receivership of Gazprom’s 48% stake in EuRoPol Gaz to ensure the firm’s “proper functioning” and “the security of critical infrastructure”.
In a previous dispute, in 2020 the Stockholm arbitration tribunal ordered Gazprom to pay PGNiG, a Polish state gas firm, 6 billion zloty for charging it prices for gas that did not reflect the realities of the market.
Last year, in a separate case, Gazprom won an appeal against a 29 billion zloty fine imposed on it by Poland’s antitrust authority for constructing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline without first seeking Polish approval.
Russia's Gazprom was this week ordered to pay €1.3bn to Poland's PGNiG.
The Polish state-controlled firm will use the money to further diversify away from Russian gas supplies. But Russia will not let go of the Polish market easily, writes @WojciechKosc https://t.co/Y6g9HjkG5y
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 2, 2020
Main image credit: EuRoPol Gaz
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
