Berlin takes temporary stewardship of Gazprom Germania
The federal government of Germany has intervened to take control of Gazprom's local subsidiary, under a temporary mandate to safeguard national energy flow, The Telegraph reported April 4.
German economy minister Robert Habeck said Gazprom Germania would be placed under state ownership until September 30. Gazprom Germania could be sold to a private investor once the state management lease ends in September, or could even be nationalised if a private solution cannot be found, according to media reports.
Berlin has opened talks with multiple interested parties and plans to sweeten the deal with state loans or guarantees from national development lender KfW IPEX-Bank.
The unit contains the midstream asset operator Wingas, owners of the 702-km Mitte-Deutschland-Anbindungsleitung pipeline and holdings in multiple storage banks, including Jemgum (1bn metres3) and Rehden (4 bn m3). The latter is considered crucial to the backbone of Germany's energy infrastructure, the Telegraph said.
Other Gazprom storage projects in Germany include the Etzel hub, which is also owned by BP Europe and Dong Energy and is situated to boost high-capacity gas transport to major European trading hubs.
"The federal government is doing what is necessary to ensure security of supply in Germany," Habeck said. "This also means that we do not allow energy infrastructures in Germany to be subject to arbitrary decisions by the Kremlin."
Gazprom confirmed it had ceased to control Gazprom Germania on April 1, but declined to name the new owner. Berlin rejected the deal saying it violated trading regulations given Gazprom did not consult with the government first.
Gazprom Germania also has several subsidiaries domiciled around Europe, including its Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T) unit, headquartered in London.
Gazprom also has a retail unit in the UK trading under the Gazprom Energy banner. The division has struggled following Moscow's invasion in Ukraine as numerous customers have sought to terminate long-term gas contracts. Earlier media reports indicated GM&T was on the brink of insolvency and could be forced to transfer into a UK government-run special receivership structure.