Finland terminates gas contract with Russia

The Finnish company Gasum terminated the gas contract with Gazprom Export, which Russia stopped servicing a year ago, the Gasum website reports.

The contract between Gasum and Gazprom Export was valid until December 31, 2031, but on May 21, 2022, Russia stopped supplying gas to Finland through pipelines after Gasum rejected demands to switch to payment in rubles.

Gasum turned to the arbitration court, which ruled in favor of the Finnish company: it allowed not to pay in rubles nor according to the payment procedure imposed by Russia.

The arbitration court obliged the company to continue bilateral negotiations to settle the situation, but they ended in nothing.

"The parties were not able to resolve the situation within the period defined by the arbitral tribunal and therefore, Gasum has terminated the long-term natural gas supply contract with Gazprom Export on May 22, 2023," the press release states.

Gasum's long-term contract for the supply of liquefied natural gas with Gazprom Export LLC remains valid.

At the end of March 2022, in response to the sanctions imposed against Russia due to the war it unleashed in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the sale of gas to "unfriendly countries" for rubles. To pay for gas, Western states had to open ruble accounts at Gazprombank.

This move resulted in Russia losing its share of the gas market and a large number of arbitration claims against it.