Turkey’s state-run crude oil and gas company Botas yesterday paid in full a retroactive sum to Greek gas utility DEPA following its recent legal victory at Stockholm’s ICC (International Court of Arbitration) in an overcharging case against the Turkish company, the Greek utility has announced.

The sum paid by Botas to DEPA, believed to exceed 200 million euros, settles a nine-year dispute.

The ICC verdict was delivered on January 10. Botas has since begun transmitting natural gas to DEPA at a lower price level, making the utility far more competitive. Its existing gas transmission contract with Botas expires in 2023.

The dispute began when DEPA claimed the Turkish company was overcharging the Greek utility for its purchases of Azerbaijani natural gas delivered through Turkish pipelines since 2011.

A considerable percentage of the amount paid by Botas to DEPA will be returned to the gas utility’s customers who, by extension, had been overcharged as a result of Botas’ inflated pricing policy. DEPA is expected to be left with a considerable amount, still undetermined.

The development comes as a boost for DEPA, whose privatization procedure has been launched.

“This is very good news coming at the most appropriate time now that the company’s privatization procedure is in progress,” noted deputy energy minister Gerassimos Thomas.