Polish Firm Warns European Companies It Could Seize Their Payments to Gazprom

Poland’s energy firm Orlen has warned gas companies in three other central European countries that it could seize their payments to Gazprom for natural gas imports as part of a claim against the Russian gas giant for losses Poland has incurred, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Gazprom cut off gas supply to Poland in 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after demanding that customers pay for Russia’s gas supply in rubles. Poland and several other EU countries refused to pay in rubles and Gazprom cut off supply to them.

But the Russian giant has continued to deliver gas to Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia, and the gas companies in these countries have been warned by Orlen of Poland that it could seize their payments to Gazprom.

In the spring of 2023, Europol Gaz, solely owned by Orlen, filed a $1.45-billion claim against Gazprom in an arbitration lawsuit seeking overdue payments for gas transmission. Europol Gaz owns the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline from Russia.

Now, in letters sent to Hungary’s MVM CEEnergy, Slovakia’s SPP, and to an Austrian company, Poland’s Orlen has warned that their payments to Gazprom could be seized. Slovakia and Hungary have recently adopted decrees and legislation that protects their gas companies from potential claims and seizures of payments.

The warnings and claims are not reassuring for Europe’s energy supply and highlight the divisions among EU member states on the basis of their dependence on Gazprom’s still available gas supply to EU nations.

Uncertainty over Russian gas supply led to brief price spikes in Europe’s benchmark gas prices earlier this month, after German energy giant Uniper terminated its long-term Russian gas supply. The decision was made possible after an arbitration tribunal awarded Uniper the right to terminate the contracts and awarded it more than $14 billion (13 billion euros) in damages for the gas volumes that Gazprom Export has not supplied since the middle of 2022.

Last month, OMV warned that Gazprom could halt gas supply to Austria due to a foreign court ruling that could interrupt OMV payments to Gazprom Export, without specifying the case.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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