Brattle Client Naftogaz Awarded $1.37 Billion in ICC Arbitration in Transit Dispute with Gazprom
In a dispute over unpaid gas transit fees between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz, Brattle served as quantum experts for Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company. In June 2025, an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal awarded Naftogaz $1.37 billion, ruling that Gazprom had breached its contractual obligations by halting payments for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.
Naftogaz filed its ICC claim in September 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, alleging that the Russian energy corporation did not meet its obligation to comply with a “ship or pay” provision – part of a 2019 contract agreement – that required payment for a minimum volume of gas transportation. Due to a force majeure declaration by the Ukrainian system operator, Naftogaz was forced to decline Russian gas sent via the Sokhranovka metering station after Russian troops seized Ukraine’s Luhansk region in early 2022, but suggested that Gazprom could instead increase its flows via the other gas transit point.
The ICC claim was the latest in a series of disputes between the two companies, including two commercial arbitrations supported by Brattle experts – the second of which culminated in a $2.56 billion award for Naftogaz. Brattle was first retained by Wikborg Rein to support Naftogaz in the related disputes in 2014.
In the 2025 matter before the ICC, the Brattle team – led by Principal Serena Hesmondhalgh – calculated damages, including interest, resulting from Gazprom’s halted payments. The team also analyzed transit flows from Russia to Ukraine, finding that there was ample spare capacity for transit flows that Russia could have used as an alternative to pipelines flowing through the Sokhranovka.
Based on Brattle’s damages analyses, the $1.37 billion awarded to Naftogaz by a Zurich-seated ICC tribunal included principal debt for the gas transit services under the 2019 agreement, late payment interest, and legal costs. Naftogaz has indicated it will pursue recovery efforts against Gazprom’s foreign assets if the Russian entity fails to pay.
