The German Uniper was able to take something from Gazprom under the pretext of an emergency

Many European companies are conducting proceedings with Gazprom in international arbitrations. However, the German Uniper is one of the few who was able to get at least something from the Russian company.

In the spring and autumn of 2022, the main deliveries of Russian pipeline gas to Europe stopped. In the beginning, the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline was blocked due to sanctions and counter-sanctions. Then, at the end of August, due to restrictions, exports via Nord Stream also stopped, and a month later two Baltic gas pipelines from Russia was blown up in Germany. For many European traders, this was a shock, as they had to buy the dropped volumes on the market at record prices, which in August reached $ 3.5 thousand per thousand cubic meters.

Then many of the companies filed for international arbitration. However, Uniper turned out to be one of the few companies that were able to get at least something, writes Bloomberg.

The lawyers of the German importer, who had to be rescued by Berlin with emergency loans, filed not only arbitration, but also applied for emergency decisions to the Weiden court in Bavaria. Gazprom refused to pay, and Uniper also went to the Nuremberg court — demanding 5 billion euros.

At the end of all the proceedings, Gazprom was awarded 13.6 billion euros in total compensation to the German company. However, the first steps made it possible to get at least something, since the main asset of Gazprom in Germany, Gazprom Germania, was nationalized by the German government back in April 2022.

Litigation lawyer from Frankfurt law firm A&O Shearman Tino Schneider told Bloomberg that other European companies could not follow the example of Uniper, as they need to prove an emergency.

It is not known what amounts Uniper was able to receive and how. It is known that the German company blocked the accounts of the Austrian company Gazprom through the court and it was no longer able to pay for gas and the parent company stopped deliveries.

Austrian OMV also acted cunningly. Having received an arbitration award in the amount of more than 200 million euros, she did not pay Gazprom a monthly payment for gas, but left it as compensation. The Russian company stopped deliveries, and the Austrians said it was the only way to get money.

Gazprom says that in the current situation it is difficult to count on a fair decision of international arbitration, and the company is filing lawsuits with the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, which prohibits European companies from conducting proceedings.