Consequences for gas deliveries unclear
Gazprom gives up German subsidiary Germania
4/1/2022, 3:44 p.m
The consequences of this step are still uncertain. In any case, it is certain that Gazprom wants to separate from its German subsidiary Germania. Their business areas include the storage of natural gas.
Russian gas giant Gazprom is giving up its German subsidiary Gazprom Germania. The group announced that it would withdraw from Gazprom Germania GmbH and its holdings, including Gazprom Marketing & Trading. The company did not provide any further details. Gazprom Germania has not yet received a statement.
The Russian parent company was the sole owner. Gazprom Germania’s holdings also include subsidiaries in Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Gazprom Germania’s business areas are trading, transport and storage of natural gas. So far it is unclear whether the announcement will have any consequences for natural gas deliveries from Russia to Germany.
Yesterday, Thursday, it became known that the federal government is apparently running through various scenarios in case the German subsidiaries of Russian state-owned companies get into serious trouble. The “Handelsblatt” reported that it was about the possibility of nationalizing or even expropriating the German subsidiaries of the energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft. The government wants to prevent a massive impairment of the energy supply, especially in eastern Germany.
According to the report, the topic lies with the Federal Ministry of Economics. The newspaper referred to several government officials. As companies in the energy sector, Rosneft Germany and Gazprom Germania are exempt from Western sanctions. The sanctions still had an impact on the companies, wrote the “Handelsblatt”. Banks and business partners have distanced themselves from Russian-owned companies since the sanctions against Russia came into force. The newspaper quoted an unspecified “insider” as saying that the danger of “technical bankruptcy” cannot be dismissed out of hand.