Poland to Seek Control of Gazprom Assets

Poland will seek the seizure of Gazprom's assets in Europe if the Russian gas company fails to comply with a court ruling requiring it to pay $1.5bn for overpricing its gas, Poland's deputy minister of state assets, Janusz Kowalski, said on April 28.

An arbitration tribunal in Stockholm in March ordered Gazprom to repay Poland's PGNiG $1.5bn for gas delivered since November 2014, after ruling that the pricing formula under the pair's long-term supply contract was unfair. The ruling also required Gazprom to price its gas according to market rates in Europe in future.

PGNiG reported on April 27 that Gazprom was still invoicing the company under the previous pricing formula, however, and had yet to settle the $1.5bn bill.

If Gazprom fails to comply, Poland can file another suit at the Stockholm tribunal to enforce the award by having the Russian firm's assets seized, including its shares in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, Kowalski said in an interview with local media, which he shared on social media.

Kowalski pointed to Ukraine's success in getting Gazprom's assets arrested last year to force the company to settle a $2.6bn arbitration award to Naftogaz. Gazprom eventually paid the amount in December, a few days ahead of agreeing a new long-term contract with Naftogaz for gas transit via Ukraine from 2020.