Russian state-controlled energy group Gazprom has asked a Russian court to prevent Austrian company OMV Exploration & Production GmbH from starting international arbitration proceedings, according to legal documents seen by Reuters.

The regional arbitration court in Saint Petersburg established that the preliminary hearings in this file will take place on April 16, according to Agerpres.

In December 2023, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, ordered the companies Wintershall Dea (Germany) and OMV (Austria) to be divested of their multi-billion dollar stakes in a series of projects gas extraction from the arctic zone of Russia. The seizure by the Kremlin of foreign assets in Russia came after Putin categorized as a declaration of economic war by the West the economic sanctions imposed on Moscow after the decision to invade Ukraine.

Gazprom faces numerous lawsuits from European companies that buy and transport Russian gas and has recently tried to settle these disputes with international companies in Russian courts, which some European companies have deemed illegal. Also, Gazprom started actions at the regional arbitration court in Saint Petersburg, threatening European companies with fines if they continue the litigation outside of Russia.

The OMV Group had revenues of 62 billion euros in 2022 and has a workforce of approximately 22,300 employees worldwide. The largest shareholder in OMV is the Austrian Government.

According to data published on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, at the end of last year, OMV, the largest listed industrial company in Austria, owned 51.1568% of OMV Petrom shares and the Romanian state, through the Ministry of Energy, 20.6980%.