Uniper Appeals $15-Billion Russian Court Ruling in Gazprom Dispute

Uniper has appealed an injunction by a Russian court that says that the German energy giant needs to pay as much as $15 billion (14 billion euros) if it seeks to continue arbitration against Gazprom, which was Uniper’s main natural gas provider before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  

Germany had to nationalize Uniper in 2022 to avoid its collapse amid soaring gas prices and a lack of Russian supply in the wake of the Ukraine invasion and the EU sanction barrage. The total bill for the nationalization came in at $53 billion.

To replace lost Russian gas volumes, European buyers switched to U.S. LNG, with exports of the commodity from the U.S. Gulf Coast soaring to record highs last year. Uniper has been especially active on the spot market, uncertain about long-term gas demand in Europe.

In November 2022, Uniper initiated arbitration proceedings against Gazprom, claiming that the replacement of gas deliveries from Gazprom after the halt of Russian gas supply cost Uniper around $12.5 billion (11.6 billion euros) to that date.

As the case dragged on, a Russian court issued on March 13, 2024, an interim injunction against Uniper in favor of Gazprom Export, according to which Uniper is prohibited from continuing the arbitration proceedings initiated against Gazprom Export, otherwise a fine worth billions of euros must be paid to Gazprom Export, Uniper said in its Q1 quarterly results statement.  

“Uniper considers the court decision to be a violation of international law and the principle of a fair trial and has filed an appeal against the ruling in Russia,” the German company added.

“However, the title will allow Gazprom Export to enforce Uniper assets within Russia and possibly even outside of Russia. Uniper is examining the impact on the Group’s risk and chances situation as well as any further legal steps,” it added.

Based on a very early, preliminary assessment, Uniper believes the potential enforcement of the title against Uniper assets is not assessed as a major individual risk, it said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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