National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy has confirmed that it received a $5.3 billion bill from Russia’s Gazprom for gas the company did not order in 2016. Naftogaz does not intend to clear it until Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce issues its final decision, the press service of the company reported.
“Gazprom refers to the take-or-pay requirement in explanations to the bill. Naftogaz does not plan to clear the bill. Until the decision is made by the arbitration tribunal, the take-or-pay provision of the contract is to apply within the existing arbitration,” the company said.
In 2016 the company several times said that it was ready to buy natural gas from Gazprom on the conditions applied to gas purchases in 2014 and 2015 with signing of supplements to the contract.
Gazprom refused to sign the supplements in 2016 without explaining its refusal. This gives additional grounds to say that Gazprom’s claims are groundless, the company said. (Interfax/Business World Magazine)