It seems that Russia does not accept any responsibility for its failure to supply gas to Europe.
Mr Makis Papageorgiou CEO said that DEPA (the Greek Gas Company) had received a letter from Gazprom which described the current situation as an Act of God, which gave the impression that Russia was not intending to compensate the company for the gas shortages. Calling it an Act of God enables Russia claim that it is necessary to deal with the problem under the provisions of "Force Majeure" in the contract, and which mean it is harder to extract penalties for failure to deliver. Force Majeure includes floods and other natural disasters as Acts of God but also covers outbreaks of war, riots etc.
Of course it might be dangerous to identify this as an outbreak of war when it comes to legal niceties (though both sides in the dispute are happy to use this term as far as publicity is concerned). Hence the resort to calling on God for someone to blame.
Despite the fact the Greeks and Russians share an Orthodox God, they also share a belief in capitalism, as shown by DEPA's intention, to sue in line with their contract with Gazprom. It seems according to the contract, the Russian company should pay for its failure to supply the required volumes of natural gas, adding that DEPA could take legal action once supplies resume. He said that the compensation could amount to some EUR 1 billion.
And that's only Greece. A few other countries might be queuing up to sue..... once the gas is flowing again.
Information from Energy Tribune here
Is anyone keeping a list of the European countries who are seeking compensation from Gazprom? Current liabilities should be a large item in the accounts, if they are ever published.
