Gazprom’s European customers look for take-or-pay leniency
Gazprom’s major European customers – in particular Germany, Italy and Turkey – are asking the Russian company not to impose penalties on the non-lifting of minimum volumes in their long-term contracts under take-or-pay conditions, reported Russian financial daily Kommersant. The requests are being made against the background of dropping gas demand in western Europe over the year.
It seems that Turkey has already requested a softening of take-or-pay conditions, with Italian and German companies also looking for their take-or-pay obligations to be lifted, according to Kommersant. It also said that the subject had been raised by top executives of European companies attending a meeting at Salekhard, in the Yamal-Nenets region. The meeting last week was arranged by Russian Prime Minister Putin to attract foreign companies to invest in gas production in the Yamal Peninsula, the area where Russia plans its next major expansion of gas production.
Over the first half of this year, western Europe saw a steep decline in purchases of Russian gas compared with the first half of 2008, and this has motivated the Europeans to ask the Russians to overlook take-or-pay penalties.
The European companies were basing their request to Gazprom on three considerations, according to Kommersant:
Russia itself did not adhere to its contractual obligations to Turkmenistan by suspending the lifting of Turkmen gas altogether since last April.
Gazprom has suspended take-or-pay penalties in the case of Ukraine, eventually agreeing that Ukraine could pay just for gas actually lifted. That could come to 33 billion cubic metres (Gm3) for this year, rather than the originally contracted volume of 40 Gm3.
The lack of any certainty that the general economic situation would improve next year.
Gazprom would not comment on the matter when contacted by ICIS Heren. E.ON and WINGAS – two companies reported to be asking for take-or-pay penalties not to be imposed – also would not comment.
Gazprom’s council of directors will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss its marketing strategy. ES
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