A Russian court has ordered nearly USD500 mln of assets belonging to German industrial gases company Linde to be frozen at the request of a Russian joint venture building a gas complex at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, court filings showed, said Reuters.
RusKhimAlyans, the joint venture which is 50% owned by Russia's Gazprom, asked the Court of Arbitration of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region to freeze Linde assets worth USD488 mln as a preventative measure.
In 2021, Linde and Renaissance Heavy Industries signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Gazprom and its partners for the Ust-Luga gas complex. Linde notified the customer in May and June 2022 that it had suspended work under the contract due to European Union sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
RusKhimAlyans alleges, according to the document, that EU sanctions ban supplying equipment for the LNG plant but do not cover equipment required for the other part of the Ust-Luga complex - a gas processing plant.
RusKhimAlyans intends to apply to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre to recover advance payment and losses worth around 972 MM euros (USD1 bn) and 7.6 B roubles, according to the court filings.
Linde did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
We remind, Linde, the world’s largest industrial gases company, said on Tuesday it has started producing green hydrogen at its facilities in Greece. Green hydrogen is made from water by electrolysis using renewable wind and solar power. The U.S.-German company, which supplies gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals, said it was the first green hydrogen production in Greece. Hydrogen is key in Europe’s energy transition to a sustainable environment and net zero emissions by 2050.
mrchub.com