EU will require companies to disclose details of deals involving Russian gas

Companies in the European Union will be required to disclose details of any contracts involving Russian gas to the EU in accordance with upcoming European Commission proposals to ban imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.

Source: an internal European Commission document, as reported by enkorr, a Ukrainian energy news portal

Details: The Commission is preparing to propose legal measures to stop all Russian gas imports into the EU by the end of 2027 and to ban any further Russian gas deals by the end of this year. The proposals are expected to be unveiled on 17 June.

An internal analysis of the forthcoming proposals, seen by Reuters, indicates that in order to ensure compliance with the ban, companies will need to provide the Commission with information such as the contract duration, annual contracted volumes, destination clause, and the date of signing for contracts involving Russian gas.

"The implementation of the measures – as designed in the proposal – requires comprehensive and systematic information about the existing contracts for Russian gas, including specific contractual arrangements," the document said.

Gas importers will also be obliged to disclose the origin of their imports to verify that they are not of Russian origin, the document says.

The disclosure is aimed at enabling EU customs and energy authorities, as well as national authorities, to ensure compliance with the ban.

"Except for cases where gas can clearly be considered as of Russian origin, the proposal requires importers to present documentation to the customs authorities about the origin of the imported gas," the document notes.

According to the Commission’s assessment, the upcoming proposals will ban EU liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals from servicing Russian customers starting 1 January 2026, with a longer deadline of 17 June 2026 for existing short-term LNG supply contracts.

The final deadline for terminating the provision of such services under long-term contracts with Russia will be 31 December 2027, the document says.

Background:

• It was previously reported that the German state-owned company SEFE and the Azerbaijani oil and gas corporation SOCAR had signed a ten-year gas supply agreement. Deliveries under this contract will begin in 2025, with an annual volume of approximately 1.5 billion cubic metres.
• On 16 May, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke out against potential plans by the US and Russia to restart the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

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