FX.co ★ Russian gas partner sues Gasprom

Germany’s E.On, one of the major Russian gas partners in Europe, has filed a lawsuit to the Arbitration Court. According to Interfax which cites the Deputy Director General of Gasprom Export Sergey Chelpanov, E.On requires reducing the gas price.
Russian business media (Vedomosti and Kommersant) suppose that German concern decided to file a case after Italy’s Edison received a discount from Gasprom. It sued Gasprom in 2010 and in 2011 the Russian monopoly agreed to allow a discount for Italy. The discount rate is unknown.
E.On is one of the major consumers of Russian gas in Europe. Kommersant writes that E.On buys about 50% of all gas transferred to Germany. The Gasprom Export website presents the information that Germany receives more than 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year and has more than 23% of Gasprom’s export structure. To compare, Gasprom supplies Edison only with about 2 billion cubic meters of gas. Vedomosti reports that E.On has already tried to force Gasprom to reconsider the contract. In 2010 the companies agreed on about 15% of gas to German company to be transferred at spot prices. It is favorable terms for E.On because exchange price are lower than the one stated in the long-term contracts with Gasprom. According to the edition, E.On may claim 100% of gas to be sold at spot prices.