Gazprom had planned to sell assets in the North Sea this year. However, a Dutch court imposed a security hold on the shares due to a lawsuit by a Ukrainian company.
The District Court of The Hague has imposed a security arrest on Wintershall Noordzee BV shares owned by Gazprom and related revenues, Interfax reports on the basis of materials from the Russian company.
In early spring, tender documents for the sale of 50% of Wintershall Noordzee and 100% of Gazprom International UK and Gazprom UK appeared on Gazprombank’s trading platform. The initial trading price was EUR 344 million and the minimum price was EUR 159 million.
The companies are involved in the development of three operating fields in the North Sea: VINZ (100%), Sillimanite (66.7%) and Wingate (84.5%). Wintershall Noordzee is a joint venture with Wintershall Dea, with which Gazprom exchanged assets in Russia. The joint venture portfolio consists of 36 fields under 33 licences in the Netherlands, Great Britain and Denmark.
Gazprombank planned to hold auctions on June 6 and began accepting applications on March 1.
BGP Litigation Partner Sergey Glandin The arrest is connected with the actions of the Ukrainian company Slavutich-Invest, which owned land in Melitopol, Interfax reports.
“In May 2023, the Economic Court of the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine, where the company appealed, ordered the Russian Federation to pay compensation to Slavutich in the amount of $15 million. In May 2024, Slavutich filed a claim with the same court. PJSC Gazprom, LLC “Gazprom capital” and MKOO “Gazprom International Limited”, in which he requested to enforce a previous court decision at the expense of his assets, and then a claim to the District Court of The Hague,” – Interfax writes.
According to him, Gazprom did not agree with the validity of securing the Ukrainian claim in the Netherlands and demanded its cancellation.
