The gas trader goes before an international arbitration board.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Frankfurt The energy company Uniper, which is about to be nationalized, wants to sue for damages in the billions from the Russian Gazprom group for the lack of gas deliveries. “Uniper has initiated arbitration proceedings,” CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach told journalists in Düsseldorf on Wednesday.
In the course of the Russian supply boycott, gas has not only become scarce, it has also become expensive: Within the past twelve months, natural gas prices have risen from 40 to up to 340 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). One MWh currently costs just under 140 euros.
Since Uniper no longer receives Russian gas, it has had to buy it expensively. According to Maubach, the additional costs amount to 11.6 billion euros so far. The proceedings will take place before an international arbitral tribunal in Stockholm.
Uniper wants to secure new sources of supply
Uniper also announced that it would divest its Russian unit Unipro. Their sale had been planned for a year and a half. According to Uniper, a buyer has also been found, but the approval of the Russian supervisory authorities is still pending – and the outcome is uncertain. Uniper therefore now wants to separate itself from the subsidiary legally and in terms of personnel “as far as possible”.
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At the same time, the group is trying to find new sources of supply. The group intends to put a floating liquid gas terminal into operation in Wilhelmshaven before the end of this year. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) plays a key role in the federal government’s efforts to replace gas supplies from Russia. US energy giant Conoco Phillips and Qatar Energy signed an agreement to supply LNG to Germany on Tuesday.
Other companies are also considering claims for damages against Gazprom. The head of Germany’s largest oil and gas producer, Wintershall Dea, Mario Mehren, explained in an interview with the Handelsblatt two weeks ago: “We examine each and every one of our business relationships with Gazprom to see whether and to what extent we can assert claims.”
In 2015, Wintershall made a large barter deal with Gazprom, acquiring new fields and in return leaving the German gas storage facilities to the Russians. The company also co-financed the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. In retrospect, focusing on the Russian gas supplier was a mistake, Mehren added.
Uniper unsuccessful in coal claims settlement in Netherlands
On the other hand, Uniper initially suffered a setback in the Netherlands on another compensation issue. There, the group, like its rival RWE, wanted to sue for payments for the early shutdown of coal-fired power plants. However, a court in The Hague ruled on Wednesday that the corporations are not entitled to compensation for lost profits.
A law passed in 2019 prohibits the use of coal to generate electricity from the beginning of 2030 at the latest for climate protection reasons. Unlike in Germany, there is no compensation for this in the Netherlands. Uniper will probably have to drop the lawsuit anyway. This is one of the conditions that the federal government has made a condition for Uniper to be able to take advantage of the government stabilization measures.
With agency material
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