The Austrian energy company OMV has won a multimillion-dollar arbitration case against the Russian company Gazprom Export regarding the cessation of Russian gas supplies to Germany in September 2022. This was reported by Liga.net on Thursday, November 14.
“OMV has decided to recover the awarded damages of €230 million plus interest and expenses, which will positively impact the balancing of the respective financial losses incurred in 2022. The company is taking necessary further steps to ensure the immediate implementation of the arbitration ruling,” the website of the Austrian energy company states.
At the same time, OMV has acknowledged the potential deterioration of contractual relations under the Austrian supply contract with Gazprom Export, including the possibility of halting gas supplies.
However, the company asserts that it is prepared for disruptions. It has diversified its sources of gas supply from Norway and is also receiving additional liquefied gas shipments. Furthermore, OMV's gas storage facilities in Austria are currently over 90% full.
OMV confirms its ability to supply all contracted volumes of gas to its customers in the event of possible supply disruptions from Gazprom Export.
The potential losses in supply are estimated by the Austrian side to be around 5 TWh per month, which is approximately 6 billion m3 per year.
It is worth noting that in August 2022, Russia completely halted the flow of natural gas to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline. This was an attempt by the aggressor country to blackmail Europe with gas prices.
In September 2022, explosions occurred along the route of the Nord Stream pipelines, resulting in a gas leak. A total of four breaches were identified on the Nord Stream pipeline. As a result of the accidents, three out of four strands of the pipeline became inoperable.
In 2018, the Austrian state company OMV extended its long-term contract with Gazprom until 2040. At the time of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Austria was buying 79% of its natural gas from Russia. In April 2024, the country imported 81% of its natural gas from the Russian Federation, and in March, it was 93%.