A team from Squire Sanders has successfully won a €450 million award from the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, representing Italian utility, Edison S.p.A., in its arbitration against Qatari company, Rasgas.
The dispute arose over the 25 year sale and purchase agreement entered into between Edison and Rasgas in 2003, for the supply of liquid natural gas to an Adriatic regasification terminal. Edison commenced the arbitration before the ICC in March 2011 when the parties failed to agree a reduction in the amount payable for the long term supply.
The ICC award handed down on 11 September 2012 is confidential, but the amount awarded was publicly announced by Edison. This award follows Edison’s successful settlement of a different arbitration with Russian-owned PromGas in 2011 on the price payable another long term LNG agreement. The same Squire Sanders team represented Edison in the Promgas arbitration, which resulted in a settlement for more than €200 million in favor of Edison.
Commenting on the decision, George von Mehren, Global Chair of Squire Sanders’ International Dispute Resolution Group and lead partner acting for Edison, said:
“As European gas companies face a deterioration in end-user prices resulting from increasing competition, the economic crisis and over supply, I anticipate that there will be more decisions such as this in the future. This is the first arbitral award in the Italian LNG market and we are delighted to have assisted Edison in this matter and in relation to PromGas last year.”
The Squire Sanders team was George von Mehren (London), Stephen Anway (New York), Steven Harris (Houston), Lisa Henneberry (Washington DC) and Stephen Fazio (Cleveland).
The Arbitrators were Horacio Grigera Naon, Peter Leaver QC and Paul Saba. Allen & Overy represented Rasgas.
