OIES Podcast – The implications of the Uniper-Gazprom arbitration ruling

Podcasts - Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

In this latest OIES podcast, brought to you by the Gas Programme, James Henderson talks to Jonathan Stern, Katja Yafimava and Agnieszka Ason about the recent arbitration court ruling on the case brought by Uniper against Gazprom. They discuss the background to the case, the specific rulings given by the court and the implications the outcome for the future of Russian gas exports to Europe. In particular, they look at the possible rationale for the decision both in terms of the award of €13 billion of damages to Uniper and also the right to terminate its long-term contract with Gazprom. They also ask why the arbitration court did not accept Gazprom’s claim of force majeure, look at whether there is much chance of Uniper collecting the damages awarded to it and consider whether other European customers of Gazprom may now be encouraged to pursue cases against the company. Finally, they look at the implications for other gas exporters to Europe, discussing whether this ruling marks the beginning of the end of Russian gas exports to Europe, meaning that this is more room for extra LNG to arrive in the continent.