Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz has collected $18 million with Russia’s Gazprom within two months,Yuriy Vitrenko, the company’s commercial director, wrote on his Facebook page.
“By the way, in addition to $2.1 billion which we have already collected with Gazprom according to the decision of the arbitration in the form of gas, we have also collected another $18 million,” Vitrenko said.
According to the decision of the court, Naftogaz got a $4.63 billion compensation for the transit gas that had been agreed on, but not delivered by Gazprom. After a long dispute,a Stockholm arbitration this year decided Gazprom is to pay Naftogaz $2.56 billion, but later suspended the enforcement of the decision.
Gazprom does not comment on the situation, although, from the point of view of the Russian holding, it does not overpay anything for transit but acts entirely within the framework of the contract.
The Stockholm arbitration has linked the contract price of Russian gas for Ukraine to the German NCG hub. And as in the contract of Naftogaz and Gazprom and fuel gas to support transit is considered at the price of supplies to Ukraine, transportation also has become cheaper. Gazprom also disputes the decision of the arbitrators and therefore pays at contractual rates without changes.
“So Naftogaz receives an overpayment, which it leaves to itself,” the co-chairman of the Ukrainian Foundation for Energy Strategies Dmitry Marunich told EAdaily.
According to the expert, Gazprom cannot recognize the overpayment because to do so would appear to agree with the decision of the arbitration.
