The money has reached the bank account of the Polish state-owned oil and gas company, PGNiG CEO Jerzy Kwieciński announced on Wednesday.
The payment was handed over by the Russians under an annex to the long-term Yamal contract between Gazprom and Poland’s PGNiG, state news agency PAP reported.
Polish President Andrzej Duda hailed the news, saying it was “a result of an effective policy” pursued by authorities “when it comes to the diversification of gas supplies.”
Senior presidential aide Krzysztof Szczerski described the payment as “a great diplomatic and judicial victory for Poland over a company that has hiked prices in an unauthorized way.”
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said last month: “You can win even with such a difficult partner as Gazprom if you conduct a consistent policy backed by arguments.”
The USD 1.5 billion repayment is for gas supplied to Poland after November 1, 2014, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency has reported.
The move follows a decision in late March by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. The ruling came in a case over a pricing dispute that began in November 2014.
PGNiG’s Kwieciński said in March: "The court agreed with us—the prices we were paying for Russian gas were too high and not market prices.”
He added that PGNiG would continue efforts to diversify Poland’s gas supplies and wean the country off Russian sources.
Jerzy Kwieciński. Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz
Poland's Secretary of State for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski last month reiterated his earlier announcement that his country would stop buying Russian gas after its long-term supply contract with Russia’s state-owned producer Gazprom expires in 2022.
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Source: PAP, IAR, TVP Info
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