Poland to seek $1.5 billion from Russia's Gazprom

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's state gas company says it will seek $1.5 billion from Russia's Gazprom after an international arbitration court in Stockholm said Gazprom was overcharging Poland.

In 2014, the company, called PGNiG, took the case of the Yamal contract prices to the Arbitration Institute in Stockholm. The company said in a statement late Monday that the ruling, which is binding, confirmed Russia's prices as excessive.

The ruling paves the way for the Polish company to seek a refund going back to 2014.

Under the 1996 Yamal contract, Poland buys some 10.2 billion cubic meters of gas each year and has to pay a fixed price even if it has no need for the full amount of gas. The price has not been disclosed but the ruling indicated it was higher than that paid in West European markets.

Poland is in the process of reducing its dependence on Russian gas and is importing liquefied natural gas from Qatar, the U.S. and other suppliers.

PGNiG has notified Gazprom it will not be extending the Yamal contract after 2022.