GAZPROM EXPORT IS SUING THE DUTCH BBL COMPANY

BBL was established in 2004. It is the operator of a large offshore gas pipeline supplying natural gas from the Netherlands to the UK. Its capacity is designed for 20 billion cubic meters of fuel per year. The majority shareholder of the organization with a 60% stake – Gasunie BBL B.V. – manages the Dutch gas transmission system.

According to Kommersant, the litigation may be related to the contract that was concluded between Gazprom and N. V. Nederlandse Gasunie. The agreement provided for mutual participation of individuals in the Nord Stream and BBL projects. The foreign structure (Gasunie) received 9%, becoming a co-founder of Nord Stream AG. Russian Gazprom received a similar option, allowing it to acquire 9%, becoming one of the co-owners of BBL.

Experts suggest that the current initiative may be related to an attempt by a Russian company to obtain a ban on the defendant conducting court proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. On February 14, 2024, Gazprom Export has already filed such a claim against GTS (Gasunie Transport Services), having achieved satisfaction of the requirements.

In May 2022, Gazprom stopped supplying gas to GasTerra from the Netherlands because the trader refused to pay for the supply in rubles. For a country that consumed about 37 billion cubic meters of gas in 2020, the cessation of supplies turned out to be a serious nuisance. The total volume of Russian gas supplies in the same year was 11.81 billion cubic meters.

In the spring of 2023, Gasunie announced that it had written off its stake in the Nord Stream project. The Nord Stream-1 pipeline itself had already been stopped by that time, and supplies from the Russian Federation had been stopped. At the end of April 2023, GTS announced the termination of accepting nominations related to Gazprom Export for pumping fuel through the Dutch gas transportation system. Since May 2023, the Russian company has finally lost its license.

Photo: mrg.tatar.ru