Naftogaz to expand claims against Gazprom on gas transit contract by $1 bln after first quarter 2016

National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy will increase claims against Russia's Gazprom under the gas transit contract by $1 billion at the end of the first quarter, Business Development Director Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

"We will accrue around $1 billion for Gazprom for the first quarter of 2016 as insufficient payment under the [gas] transit contract," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Vitrenko said that the claims under the gas purchase contract will be also increased.

"Before the end of the arbitration in Stockholm the two parties will increase their claims. Gazprom will accrue additional sums for gas they wanted to sell to us and we have not bought it… while we will accrue additional sums as compensation for our overpaid sum [compared to the fair price] for gas shipped to us [for example, in 2015] and for their insufficient payment for transit services provided by us," he said.

He added that Naftogaz still considers that Gazprom's claims to be groundless.

Earlier Gazprom increased its claims with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce against Naftogaz to $32 billion.

Naftogaz Ukrainy Head Andriy Kobolev said that the Ukrainian company’s claims against Gazprom as of February 19 were estimated at $30 billion.