E.On to ask tribunal to review gas price
MOSCOW. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Germany's E.ON has decided to ask an arbitration tribunal to resolve the issue with the price of gas supplied by Russia's Gazprom , Sergei Chelpanov, deputy general director of Gazprom Export, told Interfax.
"As the result of lengthy negotiations between E.On and Gazprom Export, changes were made to the formula according to which the price of natural gas supplied to the German company is determined from January 1, 2010. Only a month later E.On made a new request to review these prices. The talks lasted more than a year, but an agreement was not reached. Our German partners then decided to turn to arbitral procedures, as stipulated by the contract," Chelpanov said.
The fact E.On has turned to the tribunal "does not mean that the negotiating process has been broken off. We work on the assumption that the search for a solution will continue," he said.
Italy's Edison ten days ago managed to reach agreement to review prices for a long-term Russian gas supply contract with "changing market conditions" taken into consideration.
Edison buys around 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Promgas, which is a joint venture between Gazprom and Italy's Eni.
Talks to review the price with Edison began at the end of 2008, at the Italian company's request. Edison brought court action in August 2010 when negotiations failed to achieve a result, and the recent agreement put an end to the court action.