“A waiver of the claim was sent to the arbitration tribunal on Monday. Gazprom indicated a single reason – the sale of shares in Kauno Termofikacijos Elektrine (Kaunas Combined Heat and Power Plant, or KTE), which is the basis for waiving the claim,” Inga Martinkute, an associated partner with Lawin, the law firm representing Lithuania, told BNS.
When applying to arbitration, Gazprom had not specified the amount of revenues lost due to the regulation of prices, she said. Previous reports said that Gazprom’s claim might exceed 340 million litas (EUR 98.55 mln).
On Mar. 19, 2012, Gazprom, which owns a stake in Lietuvos Dujos (Lithuanian Gas), the Lithuanian gas imports and supply company, asked the ICC’s arbitration court to open arbitration proceedings against Lithuania over investments in KTE.
The agreement on the purchase and sale of shares in KTE, which was signed back in 2003 by Gazprom and Kauno Energija (Kaunas Energy), stipulated that starting from 2009 the customers of KTE would be supplied with heat at market prices. However, the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy started regulating the tariffs of KTE in 2008, Gazprom said last year.
Clement Power Venture, a US-registered company controlled by businessman Rimandas Stonys, took over 99.49 percent of shares in KTE, Lithuania’s second-biggest heat supplier, from Gazprom early in March. The deal was said to be worth more than 100 million litas, yet the precise amount has not been disclosed.
Gazprom has also filed claims against Lithuania with Stockholm arbitration (over a probe into activities of Lietuvos Dujos) and with UNCITRAL arbitration (over reorganization of the country’s natural gas sector).
