Gazprom sues Czech ČEZ, Slovak ZSE and Austrian OMV

Russian gas company Gazprom has sued three Central European companies in a Russian court, including Czech energy company ČEZ and Západoslovenská energetika (ZSE). TASS reported this today, citing court documents.

Gazprom filed lawsuits against the Czech and Slovak companies and Austria’s OMV on Thursday. No further details about the case were disclosed.

Last February, ČEZ initiated arbitration proceedings against Gazprom over cuts to agreed gas supplies, seeking more than one billion crowns in damages from the Russian giant. The situation surrounding gas trade became more complicated when Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the European Union responded by adopting a series of anti-Russian sanctions.

Gazprom and some other Russian companies are trying to move these legal disputes from international arbitration to Russia, Reuters reports. Gazprom has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and holds a monopoly on exports of this strategically important commodity from Russia via its pipeline network. The Kremlin controls the company.