Germany is reportedly considering nationalizing Gazprom and Rosneft’s plants in the country. The two Russian energy giants have a significant footprint in Germany. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is heavily dependent on Russia for gas.
Germany is considering nationalizing Gazprom and Rosneft’s plants in the country, the business newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Thursday, citing government sources. The two Russian energy giants have a significant footprint in Europe’s largest economy, with Gazprom Germania having gas storage facilities and Rosneft Deutschland accounting for a quarter of Germany’s refineries, according to Handelsblatt. Berlin is also considering expropriating Gazprom assets by forcing the giant to sell its gas storage facilities across Germany, Politico reported on Friday, citing a government official and two other people who had been informed of the plans. The business newspaper further reported on Sunday that plans to nationalize Gazprom and Rosneft units in Germany had been approved by the ruling coalition. “The situation is serious and requires emergency measures,” said Bernd Westphal, a spokesman for Chancellor Olaf Solz’s Social Democrat parliamentary group, according to Handelsblatt. If the energy companies were nationalized, they would come under the control of the German authorities, thus easing Russia’s influence in energy security in Germany and better ensuring the continuity of supply. Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised concerns about Germany’s energy security. Last week, Germany launched an emergency plan to deal with disruptions in its gas supply after Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded a ruble payment and threatened to shut down Russian gas to Europe altogether. Germany is now in the “early warning phase” of its energy emergency plan, with Berlin calling on all energy consumers – both industry and households – to save energy and reduce consumption. If the situation worsens, the country may have to deal with a share of natural gas in the last of the three-phase plan, with the industry leading the way for power outages, as described by the German Economy Ministry. The move could ruin the economy and lead to job losses. The story goes on Russian gas accounted for 55% of Germany’s gas imports in 2021 and 40% of its gas imports in the first quarter of 2022, Reuters reported. The country has pledged to end its use of Russian gas by 2024, Economy Minister Robert Hubbek said in a March 25 press release. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov opposed the idea that Berlin could nationalize Germany’s Gazprom and Rosneft units, saying it would be contrary to international law, Reuters reported on Friday.
Not extreme
Germany is not the only country said to have considered nationalizing Russian energy assets since Russia invaded Ukraine. Also in March, the Financial Times and Bloomberg reported that the United Kingdom was preparing to temporarily nationalize Gazprom’s British retail unit as it risked collapsing and disrupting supplies. The UK move seemed to be planned, the Financial Times reported, to save Gazprom’s own unit as customers abandoned it due to the war in Ukraine. Berlin is also considering restructuring options for Wingas, a Gazprom subsidiary, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing insiders. Wingas supplies about one-fifth of the German gas market, according to Bloomberg. Gazprom, meanwhile, announced on Friday that it had closed its stake in Gazprom Germany and all of its assets, including Gazprom’s marketing and marketing, S&P Global Commodity Insights said in a statement. The German Ministry of Economy, Gazprom Germania and Rosneft Deutschland did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider outside of normal hours. Read the original article in Business Insider
