The suspension of gas deliveries by the giant Gazprom to Engie is the result of a “trade dispute”, an industry source said on Wednesday, downplaying the margin for the French side.
“It is a commercial dispute linked above all to a difference in interpretation,” explained this source.
Gazprom had invoked “force majeure” to justify reducing gas volumes supplied to Engie recently, a clause that exempts it from liability in the event of an exceptional event.
“A Classic Feud”
The French party, for its part, contested this “force majeure” and deducted from its invoice the Russian giant part of the damage it considers to have suffered, which the contracts allow, according to this industrial source.
This interpretation thus differs from that of Gazprom, which demanded on Tuesday night “full receipt of the financial sums due for the deliveries.” Pending this regulation, “Gazprom Export has notified Engie of a total suspension of gas deliveries from September 1, 2022,” the Russian company said.
“At this stage, it is a fairly classic commercial dispute about what is or is not force majeure. Simply this dispute, after all classic, sees its solution very complicated due to the fact that we are in a very particular geopolitical context,” he said. . the industry source.
The markets did not react
He believes that it is too early to know what the effect of this crisis will be on the bilateral relationship between the two companies in the long term, but he has minimized the scope.
“There is no impact on the ability to supply customers in France and there is no noticeable a priori impact on supply to the whole of Europe, as volumes from Russia to the EU remain stable,” it was noted: volumes not are delivered to Engie are delivered as well in other places in Europe.
“Russia is no longer such a big concern for European supply, and the markets have not reacted at all to this announcement by Engie,” he also stressed, insisting rather on the importance of arrivals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by ship. .
Source: BFM TV
