MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. Gasum has terminated its long-term natural gas supply contract with Gazprom Export, the Finnish energy company said in a statement on Monday.
"The negotiations between Gasum and Gazprom Export have now ended. The parties were not able to resolve the situation within the period defined by the arbitral tribunal and therefore, Gasum has terminated the long-term natural gas supply contract with Gazprom Export on May 22, 2023," the company said, adding that the parties would continue to finalize the details of the contract termination.
Meanwhile, the termination concerns only the pipeline gas supply contract, whereas the long-term LNG supply contract Gasum has with Gazprom Export remains in place, the Finnish firm noted.
In May 2022, Gazprom Export suspended pipeline gas supplies under its contract with Gasum due to the Finnish side’s failure to pay for April and its refusal to pay in rubles. After that Gasum said it would not fulfill Gazprom’s demand to pay for shipments of gas in rubles, adding that it had decided to file a petition in court for an investigation on the current contract with Gazprom Export, which expires at the end of 2031.
Last fall the Arbitration Court of Stockholm recognized the Russian President's decree to switch to paying for gas in rubles as force majeure under the contract and obliged Gasum to pay Gazprom Export a debt of over 300 mln euros for gas supplies. However, the court also ruled that the Finnish state energy company was not obligated to pay in rubles for Russian gas, and that the parties should continue their negotiations to resolve the situation with supplies.