Uniper in talks with German government, Gazprom on rouble payment scheme

FRANKFURT -Germany’s Uniper remains in talks with Gazprom and the German government over how to implement Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian gas in roubles, which the European Commission said would breach sanctions.

Uniper, in presentation slides published along with final first-quarter results, cited “ongoing discussions with German government and Gazprom on potential implementation” of the decree, which has stoked fears that supplies may be disrupted.

The company, Germany’s largest importer of Russian gas, did not provide additional details on the talks. Its gas midstream business covers a portfolio of around 370 terawatt hours (TWh) of long-term gas supply contracts, of which about 200 TWh originate from Russia.

The European Commission late on Monday said complying with Russia’s proposed scheme in full would breach existing EU sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, but promised more detailed guidance on what companies can and cannot legally do.

Brussels suggested last month that buyers of Russian gas could make sanctions-compliant payments if they declare payments complete once they have been made in euros and before their conversion into roubles.

Russia’s decree says, however, that a buyer’s obligation would be deemed complete only after the foreign currency was converted to roubles.