Greek gas utility DEPA’s negotiations with Gazprom on new natural gas prices for 2024 and the Russian company’s insistence on activating a take-or-pay clause for a payment of approximately 400 million euros as compensation for unused gas quantities in 2022 and 2023 have reached a crucial stage and could end up in court.

A current price agreement between the two sides, signed in 2021, is 80 percent linked to the TTF index at the Dutch energy exchange and 20 percent linked to the price of oil.

DEPA is seeking an improved price level for 2024 as well as a retroactive price cut from January 1, 2023, which, if agreed on, would result in a reimbursement.

Also, DEPA disagrees with Gazprom’s insistence on triggering a take-or-pay clause in response to the Greek company’s failure to absorb a minimum natural gas amount of 17 TWh per year. DEPA contends its shortfall resulted from the Russian company’s failure to honor a crucial price-related term for gas supply at a price level that would ensure a competitive advantage for DEPA in the Greek market.

Over the past few months, Gazprom has supplied LNG and natural gas to at least one other customer in Greece at price levels lower than those offered to DEPA, sources at the gas utility have claimed.

Despite the introduction of EU measures designed to restrict Russian gas imports into Europe, they remain high in Greece, representing approximately 40 percent of the country’s overall gas imports – both LNG and pipeline gas – compared to just 9 percent in the EU.

Greek energy minister Thodoris Skylakakis, responding to journalists’ questions, contended he remains unperturbed by Gazprom’s dispute with Bulgaria over the Russian company’s refusal to meet a Bulgarian network usage surcharge demand of 10.2 euros per MWh.

Though this dispute could result in a disruption of Russian supply to Bulgaria and, by extension, Greece, the outcome would rid Greece of Russia’s high-cost demands, the minister contended.

The cost of the DEPA-Gazprom take-or-pay clause for 2022 is 150 million euros and is estimated to reach 300 million euros in 2023, according to the minister.