Uniper terminates the contract for the supply of Russian gas

German utility company Uniper terminated its contracts for Russian gas supplies on June 12, concluding a lawsuit that began when Gazprom cut off gas supplies to most European countries in 2022.

On June 12, Uniper reported that an arbitration panel had granted it the right to terminate its contract with Gazprom Export and awarded the firm €13 billion in damages for contracted gas not supplied.

Uniper CEO Michael Lewis said it had already been decided that any losses incurred would be handed over to the German government. However, given the deterioration of relations with Russia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, it is difficult to say whether the damages would be paid, he added.

"Our termination of contracts with Gazprom Export is the latest in a series of consistent decisions over the last three years," he said, noting that the company had also written off its stake in the defunct Nordstream 2 pipeline and in its Russian subsidiary Unipro.

The German government nationalized Uniper in 2022 as the company reeled from the loss of Russian exports. Since then, Uniper has diversified to receive gas supplies from pipelines in other regions and has built an LNG portfolio.

The EU is still importing about 14 bcm per year of Russian gas by pipeline through Ukraine, but the transit deal expires at the end of this year.