Gazprom May Pay Refunds of $10 Bn to European Customers

News agency Interfax has today reported that Gazprom may pay up to $10 billion in refunds to European customers who have been granted reductions on gas prices.

The refund would relate to savings retroactively applied to gas contracts that have been renegotiated with the company, the agency reports citing an unnamed source. 

In recent months, Gazprom has been reported to have given discounts of up to ten per cent to a number of European customers, following several disputes with the company over oil-linked gas prices.

So far this year, Gazprom has reportedly given price discounts on long-term contracts to Italy's Eni and Sinergie Italiane, France's GDF Suez, Germany's Wingas, Slovakia's SPP and Austria's EconGas.

Interfax names only Eni as one of the recipients of the price refund, saying that Gazprom has applied the discount from the beginning of 2011.

Other companies and countries are still waiting on a reduction from the Russian supplier, including Bulgaria and Poland's PGNiG which has formally entered an arbitration process to bring down the cost of its gas supply from Gazprom.

In February, PGNiG denied rumours that it was offered a 7-10 per cent discount from Gazprom, saying no proposal to change the terms of its contract had been made from Gazprom.