EC Probe Into Gazprom Practices A Positive Sign -PGNiG

The European Commission's investigation into Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom's (GAZP.RS) alleged monopolistic practices supplying gas to central and eastern Europe is a good sign and addresses how gas markets have opened up in recent years, Grazyna Piotrowska-Oliwa, chief executive of Poland's oil and gas company PGNIG, said Wednesday.
"The oil indexation solution is from the 1970s and the world has changed since then, there are now gas trading hubs, which makes this solution archaic," Ms. Piotrowska-Oliwa said.
One element of how Gazprom allegedly hampers the free flow of natural gas is the practice of including a take-or-pay clause in its gas supply contracts, including with PGNIG, she added.
PGNIG is currently in an arbitration case against Gazprom seeking lower gas prices and challenging clauses that date back to a contract signed in 1996 as an annex to this agreement signed in 2006.
The European Commission on Tuesday said it has launched an investigation into whether Gazprom--which delivers 36% of natural-gas supplies to Europe--had breached antitrust rules by hindering the free flow of gas across European Union member states, preventing countries from diversifying their gas supplies and imposing unfair prices on its customers by insisting in contracts that the price of its gas be linked to oil prices.