REUTERS
At the end of 2018, a hearing is to be held in the court of Great Britain on the enforcement of the arbitration award.
Chief Commercial Officer of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko says shares of Nord Stream 2 AG (Nord Stream 2) may be sold at auctions in the event of a positive decision by the court in Great Britain to force a $2.6 billion debt from Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom in favor of Naftogaz.
Read alsoSwedish court reinstates $2.6 bln debt collection from Gazprom in favor of Naftogaz
"At the end of this year, hearings on the compulsory execution [of the court decision] is to be held in Great Britain. If we win, and Gazprom has failed to comply with the court decision [of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce] by that time, the corresponding shares of Nord Stream 2 will be sold via auctions," Vitrenko said at a press conference on September 25, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
"I personally don't really understand how Gazprom will take such a risk when shares of Nord Stream 2 may be sold at an auction. Unfortunately, we see that Gazprom's actions are governed by political logic, which is not determined by Gazprom itself," he added.
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 $4.6 billion to the Ukrainian side.
At the same time, taking into account the arbitration award on the gas supply contract, the final amount of settlements between the two companies is $2.6 billion in favor of Naftogaz.
Against the backdrop of their loss, Gazprom announced their intention to terminate via court its contracts with Ukraine for the supply and transit of gas. Late in March, Gazprom officially notified Naftogaz of their refusal to comply with the arbitration award.
Late in May, Naftogaz began the process of forcing the $2.6 billion debt from Gazprom in foreign courts. The recovery process is under way 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.