Engie takes Gazprom to court over lost gas supply

French energy utility Engie has launched an arbitration case against Gazprom over the Russian company's failure to deliver contractual gas supplies, the former said in a report on February 21.

The case was initiated against Gazprom's export arm at the start of the fourth quarter of last year. Engie said it was seeking to obtain "recognition of Gazprom Export's non-performance of its gas delivery obligations towards Engie under long-term gas delivery agreements and payment of contractual penalties as well as compensation for damages resulting from this non-performance."

Engie began experiencing significant shortages in Russian supply from mid-June last year, when Gazprom began curtailing deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Gazprom suspended gas supply to Engie completely at the start of September, claiming that it had failed to pay in full for deliveries over the summer. The move coincided with the complete closure of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, after months of constrained flow, disrupting supply to a number of European countries.

Engie is among a number of European companies to take Gazprom to court to recover damages from the non-delivery of gas. Germany's Uniper and RWE filed arbitration claims last year after losing contracted supplies.

Despite disruptions in supply, Engie enjoyed a sharp increase in its annual profit last year on the back of higher gas and power prices. Its net recurring income came to €5.2bn ($5.6bn), up from €2.9bn in the previous year. Full-year earnings before tax and interest totalled €9bn, up from €6.1bn in 2021.