Naftogaz names condition for dropping suit against Gazprom

Chairman of the Board of the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine, Andriy Kobolyev, says Naftogaz is ready to reconsider or abandon a new lawsuit worth $12 billion lodged against Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. The move will be on the table if Gazprom agrees to conclude a long-term gas transit contract, he told a Ukrainian TV channel on Jan 9. "Naftogaz has filed a new lawsuit against Gazprom worth $12 billion. The main reason for the move is the loss of the value in our gas transmission system [GTS] due to the fact that Gazprom will build bypass routes and not fulfill its obligations to Naftogaz. In fact, we're saying to our Russian counterparts: If you build [bypass routes] and if don't want to transport [gas via Ukraine], then compensate [the losses]. If you intend to transport [gas] and are ready to sign a long-term contract in line with the European rules, along with guarantees that you will pay us money, we are ready to drop the lawsuit, or revise it, or amend it," said Kobolyev. "We've communicated the message to the European Commission, and they've heard us. We are ready to discuss the issue in negotiations with Gazprom if the shareholder agrees with us. Our goal is simple, that is to preserve transit through the territory of Ukraine," he added. As UNIAN reported earlier, in the summer of 2018, Naftogaz filed a new lawsuit with the Stockholm Arbitration seeking a revision of the gas transit tariff under a contract with Gazprom. Naftogaz has been demanding the revision of the tariff from March 2018 (to the end of 2019). The company tentatively estimated its claims at about $12 billion.

Naftogaz names condition for dropping suit against Gazprom

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