Sefe denies Gail's claim over non-delivery of LNG cargoes

Sefe Marketing & Trading Singapore (SM&TS), formerly known as Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore, has rejected Indian state-owned gas company Gail's $18bn claim over non-delivery of LNG cargoes, as per the stock exchange filing made by Gail on April 3.

In response to Gail's claim, SM&TS has denied owing anything beyond a limited sum that is contractually agreed upon and subject to SM&TS' defenses.

In December 2023, Gail filed a lawsuit against SM&TS in London, seeking $1.8bn in damages due to non-supply of LNG cargoes under a long-term contract. This lawsuit is related to a 20-year deal that Gail entered into with Gazprom Marketing and Singapore (GMTS) in 2012 for the purchase of an average of 2.5mn tonnes/year of LNG.

GMTS was a unit of Gazprom Germania, now called Sefe, but the parent company gave up ownership after Western sanctions were imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Sefe failed to deliver LNG cargoes to Gail, affecting its gas sales.

It stopped supplying LNG in May 2022, and the deliveries resumed in May last year.