Arbitrator sides with Polish gas firm in pricing dispute with Russia’s Gazprom

A Stockholm-based arbitration court has ruled that Poland’s PGNiG can demand a lower price for gas it buys from Russia’s Gazprom under a long-term contract, the Polish state-run gas firm said on Saturday.



PGNiG filed for arbitration in May 2015, arguing that it was paying more for Russian gas than other buyers in Europe.

The court has now issued a “partial ruling” in which it sided with PGNiG, according to the Polish company.

“We are satisfied with the Tribunal’s ruling, which confirms PGNiG’s right to demand a reduction of the contract price and we await the reduction of the contract price to the level of market prices at a later stage of the proceedings,” PGNiG CEO Piotr Woźniak was quoted as saying in a statement.

PGNiG earlier this week said it had signed a long-term agreement with two American companies for the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States as part of efforts to make Poland independent of Russian supplies.

Officials have said that Poland aims to stop importing gas from Russia after the long-term supply contract with Gazprom expires in 2022.

Poland’s gas grid operator Gaz-System this month said it had selected its preferred route for the Baltic Pipe, a planned new link to Norway via Denmark that is expected to supply Poland with up to 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually amid efforts to diversify supplies.

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