MADRID, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Spain's Naturgy will hold talks soon with Russia's Yamal LNG, with a view to potentially declaring force majeure on their long-term supply contract due to an EU ban on
Spain's Naturgy eyes talks with Yamal on impact of EU's Russian gas ban
MADRID, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Spain's Naturgy will hold talks soon with Russia's Yamal LNG, with a view to potentially declaring force majeure on their long-term supply contract due to an EU ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports, a senior company official said.
The Spanish power utility entered into a long-term contract with Yamal in 2013 to import around 3 billion cubic metres of Russian LNG every year.
Talks are imminent but have not started yet, Manuel Garcia Cobaleda, Naturgy's general counsel, told journalists in a press conference after the company's annual results.
Referring to previous comments from EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, Garcia Cobaleda said the ban amounted to "force majeure" - an unforeseeable event that can release companies from a contract.
That obliges the parties to "make an effort to mitigate the resulting damages," he said.
"In order to comply with the contract and to be able to invoke force majeure, these conversations between the two parties, which have not yet begun, need to take place; there is time between now and January 2027 to do so," he said.
As part of its efforts to secure supply, Naturgy is considering new deals for up to 2 bcm of gas, according to a presentation published on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Pietro Lombardi. Editing by Mark Potter)
