Reuters | 1 February 2023

Croatia to pay $256 million arbitration award to MOL - minister

by Daria Sito-Sucic

SARAJEVO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Croatia will pay 1.8 billion kuna ($255.7 million) to Hungarian oil and gas company MOL MOLB.BU under a ruling in an arbitration case at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a government minister has said.

Last July, Croatia lost an arbitration case initiated in 2013 by MOL over Croatia’s failure to meet obligations under an agreement about its INA oil and gas company.

On Wednesday, the Croatian government advisory body on INA discussed a legal experts’ opinion on the arbitration case and decided to proceed with orders given by the ICSID, Economy Minister Davor Filipovic told state television late on Wednesday.

He said that Croatia would pay 1.8 billion kuna and accompanying interest to MOL, and that funding for that had been allocated in the budget.

MOL, which is the largest shareholder in INA with a 49.08% stake, went to arbitration over the Croatian government’s failure to take over INA’s loss-making gas business or apply market prices for gas, which it had agreed to do in 2009.

The Croatian government holds 44.84% in INA while the rest belongs to small shareholders.

MOL was not immediately available to comment.