Gazprom said Monday that it would cut spot sales of the fuel to European customers that fail to buy minimum contracted volumes.
Customers who breach so-called take-or-pay clauses will be charged the same amount for spot volumes as for contracted fuel, which is linked to international oil prices, Gazprom said in a financial report on its web site.
After talks with customers including E.On, Gazprom agreed this year to adapt its long-term contracts, which are linked to oil prices, during the financial crisis. Gazprom agreed to give weight to moves in the spot market, where prices fell last year, leading purchasers to buy less fuel under long-term contracts.
“The latest data on gas consumption in Europe testifies to a gradual increase in demand in the second half of 2009,” Gazprom said in the report. “However, the market recovery is still far from complete.”
E.On chief executive Johannes Teyssen said May 11 that there was a need for further renegotiations of the utility’s long-term gas supply contracts.
Gazprom said Monday that it had reached similar agreements on adding spot-market moves to its price calculations with Russian-German trading ventures WIEH and Wingas.
Gazprom sold 39.4 billion cubic meters of gas to western and central Europe in the first quarter, up from 29.1 bcm a year earlier.
Demand for gas will reach the level of 2008 sometime between 2011 and 2013, Gazprom said, citing “leading consulting companies.”