Gazprom instructed European customers that it was now not accountable for any gasoline shortfalls due to “extraordinary circumstances,” Reuters reported, citing a duplicate of the letter. The authorized transfer comes amid a mounting vitality disaster in Europe, the place many international locations depend on Russian gasoline, whilst they search to squeeze Moscow economically.
Force majeure is an ordinary contract provision that releases events from accountability for fulfilling their commitments within the case of utmost occasions — similar to battle, storms or fires — out of the corporate’s management. By invoking it, Gazprom is asserting it shouldn’t be held accountable for reneging on promised gasoline shipments to Europe within the context of the battle.
Gas supply through the Nord Stream pipeline has been paused for every week because the pipeline undergoes scheduled upkeep — however even earlier than that, the movement of gasoline from Russia to Europe had slowed dramatically. Gazprom slashed gasoline deliveries via Nord Stream 1 to 40 % of its capability on June 14, the date the corporate later indicated as the beginning of the force majeure.
Uniper, Germany’s largest importer of Russian gasoline, confirmed to The Washington Post that it had acquired a discover from Gazprom “in which the company claims force majeure retroactively for past and current shortfalls in gas deliveries,” a Uniper spokesman wrote in an e mail. “We consider this as unjustified and have formally rejected the force majeure claim.”
RWE, Germany’s largest energy producer, additionally acquired a force majeure letter from Gazprom, spokeswoman Stephanie Schunck confirmed to The Post. She declined to remark additional.
Gazprom couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
The authorized maneuver has raised considerations about the way forward for Russian gasoline provide to Europe at a time when tensions over vitality safety are already excessive. The discount in gasoline supply has hit Uniper arduous, inflicting the corporate to lose tens of tens of millions of euros every day since Moscow minimize capability in June, the New York Times reported. The firm, which used up a 2 billion-euro credit score line from the German state-owned funding financial institution on Monday, is looking for further credit score and an pressing bailout from the German authorities.
Gazprom has blamed Western sanctions over Russia’s battle in Ukraine for the decreased provide, pointing to a lacking turbine that was despatched to Canada for repairs and couldn’t be despatched again to Russia due to financial sanctions. Germany challenged the notion that the absent turbine produced the dramatic minimize. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Canada despatched the turbine by airplane on Sunday to Germany, which can then ship it on to Russia within the subsequent week.
Fears in Europe have mounted in latest days that Russia could not restart gasoline deliveries through Nord Stream 1 after the deliberate upkeep is scheduled to finish on Thursday. Gazprom has not dedicated to doing so.
“Russia continues to use natural gas as a political and economic weapon,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned at a information briefing Tuesday. “Russia’s energy corrosion has put pressure on energy markets, raised prices for consumers, and threatened global energy security.”
But it stays unclear whether or not the troubles are justified. The declaration of force majeure is of “little significance” past authorized wrangling, mentioned Jens Suedekum, an economics professor on the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and adviser to Germany’s local weather and vitality ministry. Ultimately, nobody is aware of but what resolution Russian President Vladimir Putin will tackle whether or not to flip again on gasoline provides, he mentioned.
“We will only know how to interpret whatever Gazprom says when we know what will happen at the end of the week,” mentioned Philipp Heilmaier, head of the longer term vitality provide division on the German Energy Agency.
Loveday Morris contributed to this report.
