The Russian “Gazprom” has ceased participation in a 100% subsidiary of Gazprom Germania, which is the operator of several gas storage facilities in Germany, reports DW.
As per DW, on March 31, 2022, PJSC Gazprom’s subsidiaries terminated their participation in Gazprom Export Business Services LLC, the sole member of GAZPROM Germania GmbH,” the holding said on Friday, April 1.
Gazprom announced that it had abandoned all assets belonging to the German subsidiary, including Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd. The reasons for the decision and further details are not reported. Gazprom Germania has not yet commented on the move.
OOO Gazprom Export Business Services is registered in St. Petersburg. Based in Berlin, Gazprom Germania operates several large gas storage facilities in Germany.
Germany may nationalize Gazprom and Rosneft subsidiaries
The day before, the German publication Handelsblatt, citing sources in German government circles, reported on the possibility of expropriation and nationalization of subsidiaries of the Russian energy concerns Gazprom and Rosneft. According to the source, this option is being analyzed by the Ministry of Economics in Berlin.
Putin Bluffed
Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted “a bluff” by saying that he would demand payment for gas in rubles, and “everyone has seen it”, said the MEP of the German Greens, Michael Bloss, a member of the Itre commission (Industry, Research and Energy), to Adnkronos. But both the G7 and Germany have made it clear that there will be no such payment and that “we will not suffer blackmail” from the Kremlin.
“We have all seen – he says – that this is a bluff. What matters is that the G7 and Germany have said very clearly that there will be no payment in rubles and that we will not suffer Vladimir Putin’s blackmail attempts. The line of the German government and I think it is the right way. As far as we can see, it is working: Putin has not stopped gas deliveries so far.”
“Gas deliveries from Russia – continues Bloss – have never stopped, even in the worst periods of the Cold War. If Putin chooses to stop supplies, it will be a problem for him because they are a great source of income for Russia. And it will also be very difficult to explain since they are market transactions. Therefore, no one will trust Russian companies anymore if they do not respect the contracts. “What will happen – he concludes – is that there will be a law against Russian companies because they do not respect contracts”.
Gazprom notifies ruble purchase rules
Unmindful of world opinion, Gazprom has begun to notify customers of the new gas payment mechanism by giving technical indications after the Kremlin ordered a new system that mandatorily provides for converting payments into rubles.
The company wrote on its Telegram channel, “as a Russian company, Gazprom is unconditionally and fully subject to Russian law” but that “it is a responsible partner and will continue to export gas to customers safely”.
In a note, the gas giant also specified that the government Commission for controlling foreign investments in Russia has the right to issue exceptions to these rules for individual buyers. But, at the same time, Gazprom reassured Europe, stating that it continues to supply Russian gas regularly via Ukraine according to European consumer requests of 108.4 million cubic meters as of April 1.
Russia highlights Ruble payment advantages
Gazprombank is ready to help convert the euro or the national currency of unfriendly countries into rubles, said Igor Ananskikh, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy. He was commenting on a statement by French Minister of Comprehensive Environmental Transformations Barbara Pompili that companies will be able to continue paying for Russian gas in euros.
“To do this, two accounts will be opened in the bank: “Western partners” will send euros for gas to one, the bank will help convert this into rubles, which will go to the second special account, and with these rubles, they will pay for the gas received. It seems to me that a very correct and excellent scheme,” he said.
He disagreed with Pompili’s words that Russia’s transition to a new gas sales scheme does not change anything for European companies.
“In this situation, we receive payment at the moment and make the conversion. Everything is done under our control. We get control over the conversion of euros into rubles. The task of the Russian leadership is to strengthen the ruble through the sale of Russian energy resources,” he told Pravada.
Shell cannot buy Russian gas
The British company Shell cannot buy Russian gas because of the anti-Russian policy of Great Britain, said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, quoted by TASS.
“London wants to be the leader of everything anti-Russian. He even wants to overtake Washington! That’s the price!” Peskov told TASS. Unlike the European Union, he said that the U.K. had imposed sanctions against Gazprombank, which does not allow Shell to buy Russian gas in rubles.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources, that the British company will probably not be able to pay for deliveries this month precisely because of the sanctions against the bank of the Russian state gas company Gazprom.