13 Jul 2017 13:28

Court leaves Siemens turbines complaint without action until Aug 21

MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - The Moscow Arbitration Court has left a complaint filed by Siemens regarding gas turbines without action until August 21, according to the case file.

The lawsuit was filed on July 12, 2017. The defendants named in the lawsuit are OJSC Technopromexport Foreign Economic Association, LLC Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies and LLC Technopromexport Foreign Economic Association.

Siemens said that its joint venture (JV) with Power Machines, Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies was included in the lawsuit for informational purposes. All complaints are essentially against Technopromexport as a participant in a project on the Taman Peninsula.

Technopromexport is part of the Rostec Group which is building thermal power plants in Crimea. Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies, a JV between Siemens and Power Machines, with the latter holding a 35% stake, manufactures gas turbines in St Petersburg, equipment from which was presumably moved to Crimea.

The Sevastopol combined cycle thermal power plant is being built in the Balaklavsky district of the city. Both the first and second phases consist of a gas turbine unit with capacity of 235 MW. A similar power plant with the same capacity is being built in Simferopol.

Western media, citing unnamed sources, reported earlier that there were plans to install Siemens turbines at power plants in Crimea, but if the German company supplied the equipment it would be in breach of sanctions imposed by the European Union, which does not recognize the Russian status of the Black Sea peninsula. Siemens categorically denied plans to supply its turbines to Crimea.

Reuters, citing sources, reported on Wednesday that turbines made by Siemens were delivered to Crimea. A representative of the company in Munich said that the company did not deliver turbines to Crimea and is complying with all export control restrictions. Two SGT5-2000E turbines were unloaded at the port of Sevastopol, Reuters said.

Russian power plant builder Technopromexport (TPE), which is building the plants in Crimea, issued a statement on Thursday saying that it acquired four gas turbine sets for the Crimean power plants on the secondary market. TPE said it modernized the turbines at Russian plants with the help of Russian engineering companies. The project initially factored in certain technical solutions, and the acquired turbines had to be brought in line with the initial conditions and requirements of the project.

On Monday the German equipment manufacturer said that two of four Siemens turbines could be supplied to Crimea against the will of the company.

In a statement, the company said it had received information from trustworthy sources that at least two of four gas turbines which were supplied for a project in Taman in the south of Russia had been moved to Crimea against the company's will.