SEFE Marketing & Trading Singapore, previously known as Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore, has rejected GAIL’s $1.81 billion claim over undelivered LNG volumes.
India’s largest gas utility GAIL said in a filling to the stock exchange that SEFE Marketing & Trading Singapore (SM&TS) has filed its statement of defence on April 2, 2024.
“SM&TS denies that it owes anything other than an alleged contractually limited sum properly evidenced and subject to SM&TS’ defences,” GAIL said.
GAIL announced in December it launched an arbitration process in the hope of securing up to $1.81 billion in compensation from SM&TS over undelivered LNG volumes.
GAIL said the dispute is related to “non-supply of LNG cargoes to GAIL under long-term LNG contract.”
The state-owned firm filed the claim in the London Court of International Arbitration on November 30.
It is seeking “up to $1.817 billion and alternative reliefs including non-monetary reliefs.”
GAIL previously said that SEFE stopped supplying LNG in May 2022 and that the deliveries resumed in May last year with about four LNG cargoes per month.
This means that SEFE did not supply up to 48 LNG cargoes to GAIL during the period.
In 2012, the Indian firm and Gazprom’s unit signed the sales and purchase deal for 2.5 mtpa of LNG.
The contract started in 2018 and ends in 2041, according to GIIGNL data.
However, the German government took over Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), previously Gazprom Germania, in November 2022 saying the move is necessary to protect its energy security due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Prior to that, the management of SEFE applied to the German government for stabilization measures.
This request was necessary as Russian sanctions against SEFE were leading to the suspension of gas deliveries, SEFE said.
