Stockholm court to hear Naftogaz–Gazprom case in one year
30 January 2015
The Stockholm arbitration court will hold hearings in the conflict between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine not earlier than February-March 2016, Gazprom stated in its comments to its interim report for 9M14 made public on Jan. 29. Gazprom filed a debt repayment claim of more than USD 4.5 bln against Naftogaz on June 16, 2014 the report said. The same day, Naftogaz asked the court to retroactively revise the gas price under the Gazprom-Naftogaz contract since May 2011 and demand that Gazprom compensate for overpaid gas that may exceed USD 6.0 bln. Another claim was filed by Naftogaz in October 2014, with total claims of about USD 6.2 bln.
Alexander Paraschiy: The most encouraging conclusion from this information is that the Ukrainian gas monopoly faces little risk of being forced to pay additional money to Gazprom (for earlier imported gas) in 2015, i.e. before the Stockholm court’s ruling. Recall, Gazprom officially informedNaftogaz on Jan. 20 that the Ukrainian company owes USD 2.4 bln for gas it imported by the end of 1H14.
The next day, Naftogaz respondedthat it should be the Stockholm arbitration court that decides on the amount of debt. Naftogaz insists that with a USD 3.1 bln payment made in 4Q14, it fully repaid its debt for gas imported in 4Q13 and 2Q14, insisting that that gas should have been priced at a special rate of USD 269/tcm. Based on standard logic, we estimate that Naftogaz still has to pay at least USD 1.4 bln to Gazprom for the earlier imported gas (and not the USD 2.4 bln that Gazprom claims).
