KIEV, November 27. / TASS /. The Svea County Court of Appeal (Sweden) rejected Gazprom’s complaint on Wednesday about a decision by the Stockholm arbitration court in a dispute with Naftogaz Ukraine about Russian gas supplies to Ukraine regarding the take-or-pay principle, as well as a ban on re-exporting Russian gas, the Naftogaz press service said on Wednesday.
"The decision on the supply contract was made in two stages. A separate decision was made on May 31, 2017. Gazprom challenged this decision on November 7, 2017. This appeal has been rejected today," the press service said. The Stockholm arbitration on May 31, 2017 also satisfied Naftogaz’s demand to review the contract price taking into account market conditions, the company reminded.
According to Kobolev, hearings on Gazprom’s appeal on the second arbitration decision should be held in February 2020, and the third, on a transit contract, could take place next fall.
Lawsuit
Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine plunged into a litigation over gas supplies and transit contracts with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce back in 2014.
Gazprom is demanding more than $37 bln from the Ukrainian company for gas under the take-or-pay clause for 2012-2016, for the payment for gas supplied in May-June 2014 and gas debts.
On February 28, 2018, the Stockholm Arbitration court handed down a final decision on the dispute between Gazprom and Naftogaz regarding the contract on gas transit via Ukraine. On March 29, 2018, Gazprom challenged the ruling of the Stockholm Arbitration in the Svea County Court of Appeal and demanded its partial reversal citing serious procedural violations. On May 28, 2018, Gazprom submitted an appeal to the court to fully overturn the arbitration ruling.
At the end of May, Gazprom was informed that Naftogaz of Ukraine was taking action in Switzerland to enforce the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration in the dispute over gas transit contract.
On June 5, Naftogaz of Ukraine said that the Dutch court had upheld its petition on seizure of Gazprom shares in its Dutch subsidiaries and the debt of those subsidiaries. According to Naftogaz, the petitions were filed to secure its right to receive from Gazprom $2.6 billion under the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration, adopted in February 2018.
On June 28, the Svea Court of Appeal (Sweden) upheld its June order suspending performance of the Stockholm Arbitration award, with Naftogaz of Ukraine attempting to collect $2.56 bln from Gazprom in the dispute over the contract on gas transit via Ukraine.
In December 2017, the court ordered Naftogaz to pay Gazprom $2 bln for the deliveries, but reduced the annual contractual volume of purchases to 5 bln cubic meters. At the same time, the "take or pay" condition was preserved for 80% of this volume. This condition will be effective only in 2018.
As for the gas transit contract, in February 2018, the Stockholm court ruled that Gazprom’s obligation would remain (110 bln cubic meters per year). The Russian company should also pay $2.56 bln to Naftogaz for the shortfall in transit volumes.