Unused gas from major take-or-pay contracts in Russia might go to exchange - paper

MOSCOW. June 20 (Interfax) - The Russian government might allow major gas buyers who use upwards of 100 mcm per year and have long-term take-or-pay contracts to sell gas they do not take on the exchange, national daily Kommersant reported on Thursday.

If these amounts cannot be sold, the supply rights will revert to Gazprom , which will be required to repurchase them at 90% of the contract price and sell them on the market at unregulated prices, the paper said, citing a draft resolution to amend gas delivery rules that could go into effect as of September 1.

The principle of take-or-pay for long-term contracts was enshrined in amendments to the law on gas supply that went into effect in April 2024. They introduced a new category of buyers who have preferential rights to enter into take-or-pay contracts - Russian industrial companies, a list of which is determined by the government.

At present, consumers are not charged in most cases for not taking gas, and additional expenditures on market balancing fall on suppliers.