Wintershall Dea hits back at asset seizure, says Russia unpredictable
Reuters
Published Dec 20, 2023 09:30
Updated Dec 20, 2023 09:51
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Wintershall Dea on Wednesday said Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree seizing its Russia assets shows once again that Russia has become unreliable and unpredictable.
"The presidential decree is further confirmation: Russia is no longer a reliable economic partner and is unpredictable - in every respect," said a spokesperson in a written reply to an enquiry by Reuters.
Decrees signed by Putin on Tuesday showed that Wintershall Dea and Austria's OMV are to formally lose their shares in gas extraction projects.
The company said it had received information about the move from the media and was in the process of analysing the situation more closely.
Wintershall Dea, an international oil and gas producer, was cut off from its Russian earnings, which had previously accounted for half its production, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.
It financially deconsolidated the assets, including Siberian gas fields Yuzhno Russkoye and Achimov, which it co-owns.
Majority shareholder BASF, which took writedowns after earlier Russian decrees cut the price at which Wintershall Dea supplied its Kremlin-controlled partner Gazprom (MCX:GAZP), is seeking to exit Wintershall Dea.
Wintershall Dea Chief Executive Mario Mehren in July ruled out selling the assets to Wintershall Dea minority shareholder Mikhail Fridman, owner of the investment firm LetterOne, because he is subject to Western sanctions.
Mehren has said his firm is looking into ways to recover at least some of the damages incurred, including arbitration and legal claims.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.