By Julia Payne and Marek Strzelecki
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s largest energy group Orlen has warned gas companies in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria that it may withhold their payments for imports from Russia’s Gazprom, sources familiar with the matter said.
The warnings in letters sent more than a month ago are related to compensation claims for Poland, which will be cut off from Russian supplies in 2022, two sources familiar with the letters told Reuters.
Poland was denied the flow due to non-payment in rubles after the West imposed sanctions on the country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The warnings from Orlen prompted Budapest to issue a decree in May, a source said, aimed at preventing the seizure of payments from state-owned energy company MVM CEEnergy to Gazprom on the grounds that this would endanger Hungary’s energy supply.
There is uncertainty on the European gas market regarding supplies from Russia after Austria’s OMV warned last month that Russia’s Gazprom would stop supplies following a foreign court ruling, but without specifying the exact case.
Orlen said there was still a dispute with Gazprom over a long-term gas contract.
“For legal reasons, the company does not comment on ongoing arbitration proceedings or initiated legal proceedings,” Orlen said in response to a question from Reuters. OMV referred Reuters to an earlier comment on the matter on May 21. In it, OMV said Gazprom could stop its gas supplies if a foreign court ruling was enforced that would oblige Gazprom to pay a large European company instead of the Russian gas giant. OMV did not name the company.
“Nothing has changed in this regard. OMV is currently not aware of any irregularities in our gas deliveries to Austria,” a spokesman said on Thursday.
“As long as there is a dependence on Russian gas supplies, there is a considerable risk of a corresponding supply failure with far-reaching consequences,” said the Austrian Energy Ministry.
Slovak gas company SPP, which buys its gas from Gazprom, said on Wednesday that a recent change in the law protects it from possible seizure of its Russian gas imports or related claims.
Last year, Poland’s Europol Gaz filed a $1.45 billion claim against Gazprom for overdue payments and lost revenue from gas transportation services after 2022. Orlen is the sole owner of Europol Gaz, which operates the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline connecting Russia and Europe.
In 2022, Poland terminated its agreement with Russia to receive Russian gas through the Yamal pipeline. Warsaw had previously rejected a demand to pay for the fuel in rubles, after which Moscow stopped deliveries.
The development points to a further split within the European Union, resulting from the halt in Russian energy supplies, which has led to tariff disputes and a decline in industrial productivity.
Details of the Polish judgment were not available and the court was unable to provide them immediately.
Orlen is demanding more than $350 million from MVM CEEnergy as security for Gazprom’s debts, a source said, citing a ruling by a Warsaw court.
MVM CEEnergy did not respond to requests for comment.
The German energy supplier Uniper won a multi-billion euro arbitration case against Gazprom in Stockholm earlier this month, allowing the company to terminate dormant gas supply contracts and thus potentially setting a precedent for similar cases.
Europol Gaz’s claim against Gazprom was filed before the same arbitration tribunal.
(Reporting by Julia Payne in Brussels and Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw; additional reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague, Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich in Vienna; Editing by Nina Chestney, Bernadette Baum and Susan Fenton)
