Before sanctions were imposed in October 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Polish subsidiary had been a distributor of liquified natural gas (LNG) and liquified propane gas (LPG) from its Russian parent company Novatek.

But when Novatek Green Energy, whose owners support the Kremlin had its operations license suspended under sanctions two years ago, its customers were provided gas by PSG, a subsidiary of Poland’s largest energy company, Orlen.

Following the competition watchdog’s announcement on Wednesday, Novatek Green Energy's assets, including gas handling equipment, will now be taken over by Barter, which focuses on the LNG market.

According to UOKiK, Barter’s bid was chosen over that of a company formed by ex- Novatek employees called Geneo who claimed in late 2023 that they had purchased the assets of Novatek Green Energy from Novatek.