Gazprom's "Force Majeure" for European Customers

Gazprom, Russia's largest company and the world's largest natural gas producer, has issued a "force majeure" notice to several major European energy companies. According to the notice, the company said it would be unable to ensure gas supplies due to "extraordinary" circumstances beyond its control.

Starting on June 14, Russian gas giant Gazprom issued a "force majeure" notice to several major European energy companies. German energy companies Uniper SE and RWE AG were among the companies that received this warning from the Russian gas company. RWE company representatives confirmed that they received a notice from Gazprom. The company did not want to comment on the issue for legal reasons. Trevor Sikorski, Head of Natural Gas, Coal and Carbon at Energy Aspects Ltd, said: "Low flows are just a signal that they may last longer than the scheduled maintenance period. Companies often declare force majeure in the event of an unforeseen event such as a fire or natural disaster." Noting that retroactively triggering the legal cause was "unusual to say the least", Trevor Sikorski said he expected European customers to challenge the notification and seek compensation. The flow of natural gas from Russia to Germany was reduced due to maintenance work that began in mid-July. The decision is expected to deepen tensions between Russia and Europe, which aims to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027.