Gazprom's shares in Blue Stream arrested in The Netherlands

The Amsterdam District Court on May 30, 2018, ruled to arrest the shares of the Blue Stream pipeline operator, Blue Stream Pipeline Company BV (BSPC), owned by Gazprom, no the claim filed by Naftogaz of Ukraine, according to Gazprom's quarterly report.

Also, the arrest has been imposed on the repayment of BSPC's debt to Gazprom, RBC reports

"On May 30, 2018, the arrest was imposed on the shares of the Blue Stream Pipeline Company BV, owned by PJSC Gazprom, as well as on debt repayment by Blue Stream Pipeline Company BV to PJSC Gazprom, in accordance with the ruling of the District Court of Amsterdam," reads the document.

Restrictive measures were imposed by the District Court of Amsterdam in the proceedings on the recovery of $2.56 billion from Gazprom in favor of Ukraine's Naftogaz, following a dispute between the two companies in the Stockholm Arbitration.

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As UNIAN reported earlier, at the end of February 2018, the Russian energy monopoly, Gazprom, lost a lawsuit filed by Naftogaz with Stockholm arbitration on a gas transit contract. Gazprom was obliged to pay to the Ukrainian side $4.6 billion.

At the same time, taking into account the arbitration award on the gas supply contract, the final amount of settlements between the companies is $2.6 billion in favor of Naftogaz.

Against the backdrop of their loss, Gazprom announced their intention to terminate in court its contracts with Ukraine for the supply and transit of gas. In the second decade of March, Gazprom officially notified Naftogaz of their refusal to comply with the arbitration award.

Late May, Naftogaz began the process of forcing a $2.6 billion debt from Gazprom in foreign courts. The recovery process has already begun in England, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Among the assets of interest to the Ukrainian side are the shares of companies operating the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.

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In mid-June, Gazprom said that the Swedish court suspended enforcement of the Stockholm arbitration award in a dispute over the gas transit contract. Naftogaz is now challenging the court decision.

In July 2018, Naftogaz filed with the Stockholm Arbitration another claim, requesting that the gas transit tariffs laid down in the contract with Gazprom be revised. The Ukrainian company demands that the tariff be revised for the period from March 2018 to the end of 2019, and estimates its claims at USD12 billion before interest.