Finnish Gasum will start proceedings in court on a contract with Gazprom

Kazachya compressor station. File photoMOSCOW, May 20Finnish Gasum has notified that it does not intend to pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles, and is also launching arbitration proceedings against a gas supply contract, Gazprom Export (100% subsidiary of Gazprom's company). Earlier on Friday, Gasum announced that gas supplies from Russia to Finland would stop at 7 am on May 21.Polish PGNiG has reserved more than half of Baltic Pipe's capacityThe Finnish company Gasum announced on May 17 that it would initiate arbitration proceedings in respect of a gas supply contract with Gazprom Export LLC. The company also said that it did not intend to make payments in rubles in accordance with Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 172 dated March 31, 2022 and in accordance with the scheme proposed by Gazprom Export, the company said. In April, Gazprom Export notified Gasum that the payments agreed in the contract with it should be made in rubles in the future However, Gasum did not accept this proposal.Since the companies had significant disagreements on other requirements of the contract, Gasum decided to refer all disputes related to the contract to arbitration.Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 23 announced the transfer of payment natural gas supplies to the EU countries and other states that have introduced restrictive measures against Russia, in rubles in order to stop using vaniya in the calculations of dollars and euros. Then the president signed a corresponding decree and said that if «unfriendly» countries do not pay in rubles from April 1, then Russia will consider this a default on gas contracts. According to the new scheme, Gazprombank will open special currency and ruble accounts. The buyer will be able to transfer funds to the first account in the currency specified in the contract for the supply of «blue fuel», the bank will sell it on the Moscow Exchange, after which it will credit rubles to the account of the gas buyer. Settlements with the supplier — Gazprom — will be made from this account.