Gassled pipeline loses case against Norway

An Oslo court ruled in favour of Norway in a dispute on tariffs between the state and the operators of its Gassled pipeline network, Reuters reported on Friday.

The conglomerate, which includes infrastructure company Solveig Gas Norway AS, German holding company Allianz S, and the state of Abu Dhabi among others, will have six weeks to file an appeal. The government said in a statement it was satisfied with the ruling.

Gassled paid about $3.7 billion for a 44-percent stake in the pipelines of western Europe’s biggest gas producer. The investors filed suit last April in response to Norway changing the laws on gas transport tariffs, which cut the tariffs by 90 percent. They argued that the proposed changes could result in the loss of $1.76 billion in revenue, and up to $6.6 billion over the next twenty years.

The Gassled pipeline infrastructure delivers about 20 percent of Europe’s gas needs from Norway’s shelf.

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