UPDATE: Gazprom: Stockholm court cancels PGNiG claim on gas price

(Rewrites, adds details in headline, paragraphs 1–3)

MOSCOW, Jul 2 (PRIME) -- The Stockholm Arbitration Court has agreed with the arguments of Russian gas giant Gazprom and turned down a claim by Poland’s PGNiG for a change of gas prices, Gazprom Export said in a statement on Monday.

“Gazprom Export received a preliminary decision by the arbitration tribunal on June 29 concerning a gas supply contract to company PGNiG. The arbitration tribunal agreed with the arguments of Gazprom Export and has fully cancelled PGNiG’s claim to change the price in accordance with the requirement set by this company during the litigation,” Gazprom Export said.

The court will make a final decision after consultations with the firms, Gazprom Export said.

Earlier on Monday, the court recognized the right of PGNiG to demand a lower price for gas bought from Gazprom.

“The Tribunal granted PGNiG’s key arguments indicating the need of reduction of the contract price and rejected Gazprom’s arguments in support of maintaining the current, non-market pricing terms under the Yamal Contract,” the statement quoted President of the Management Board Piotr Wozniak.

The Yamal Contract, valid until 2022, provides for the supply of approximately 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually. According to the take-or-pay commitment imposed by Gazprom, PGNiG has to collect at least 8.7 billion cubic meters of the contracted fuel per year.

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