German oil and gas firm Wintershall Dea said on Wednesday it would stop payments to Russia and write off its 1-billion-euro ($1.1 billion) financing in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was suspended last week.
The group, one of the five co-funders of Nord Stream 2, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had “shaken the foundations of the company’s work in Russia to the core”.
The remaining backers of the Gazprom-led pipeline include German utility Uniper, Austria’s OMV , France’s Engie as well as Shell, which has already announced a write-down of its contribution.
Germany last week halted certification of the pipeline, which bypasses Ukraine to transport gas from Russia to Europe.
Wintershall Dea, which is co-owned by BASF and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s investor group LetterOne, said it would remain involved in its existing Russian joint ventures.
These include the Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field, in which it owns 35%, with Gazprom and OMV owning 40% and 25%, respectively.
It will also keep its holdings in the Achimov natural gas production projects in Siberia, which include Achimgaz – a 50-50 joint venture with Gazprom – and Achim Development, in which Wintershall Dea holds 25%.
Wintershall Dea said it will also remain active in network operator Gascade, a joint venture with Gazprom that operates a 3,200-kilometre (1,988-mile) gas pipeline network in Germany.
Uniper, too, said it would continue to run its Russian business, which includes a 83.7% stake in local utility Unipro , in a responsible way, adding this was key to meeting existing gas and power supply deals in Europe.
Source: Reuters
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