A subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom has initiated legal action against global industrial gases company Linde, seeking 85.7 billion roubles ($879 million) in damages, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters.
The claim, filed on October 29th in the Arbitration Court of the Amur Region, pertains to the Amur Gas Processing Plant, a key facility for Russian gas exports to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline.
Linde suspended all business development activities in Russia in 2022, following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. This suspension included ceasing supply to certain customers and divesting industrial assets to reduce its footprint in the country.
The Amur plant’s first technological line began operations in June 2021, with plans to reach full annual capacity of 42 billion cubic metres of natural gas processing by the following year.
This lawsuit adds to a series of legal challenges Linde has faced in Russia since its withdrawal. In August, a Russian court ordered the freezing of approximately $1.15 billion in assets belonging to a British subsidiary of Linde, related to a dispute over a gas processing plant.
Read more:Russian court orders $1.2bn of Linde UK’s assets to be frozen
Gasworld has reached out to Linde for comment but has not received a response at the time of publication.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Gazprom has been involved in multiple legal disputes with European companies, primarily over halted gas supplies and contract breaches.
Uniper arbitration
German energy firm Uniper initiated arbitration proceedings against Gazprom in November 2022, seeking compensation for undelivered gas supplies. In June 2024, an arbitration tribunal ruled in favour of Uniper, awarding the company €13 billion ($14 billion) in damages. Gazprom has contested the ruling and the enforcement of the award remains uncertain.
Legal actions against European banks
In August 2024, a Russian court in St. Petersburg froze assets worth over €700 million ($773 million) belonging to UniCredit, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank. The action was based on claims by RusChemAlliance, a Gazprom subsidiary, related to guarantees provided by these banks for a liquefied natural gas terminal project that was halted due to Western sanctions.
Engie arbitration
French energy company Engie has also initiated arbitration proceedings against Gazprom, seeking compensation for reduced gas deliveries. The financial details and current status of this case have not been publicly disclosed.
