Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM) announced on Friday that it was withdrawing from operations in Germany amid a crisis in vital energy ties between the two countries following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The gas giant did not provide details or explanations for its decision to terminate its stake in Gazprom Germania GMBH and all of its assets, which include subsidiaries in Britain, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Gazprom has been under scrutiny by European Union regulators for months after it denied allegations that it was blocking gas that could have been released at lower prices. Sources said this week that its offices in Germany were attacked by EU antitrust authorities. Read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “I think this means that Gazprom is pulling the curtain on being an active participant in the European gas market. It is essentially returning home because it no longer feels welcome,” said Katja Yafimava, a senior fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. “I think Gazprom understands that it is going to face a hostile political and regulatory environment in Europe and therefore wants to consolidate and carry out all its activities in one place – St. Petersburg, probably with the political support of the Russian government.” Yafimava said it did not expect any impact on Russian gas supplies under long-term contracts. A German market source with knowledge of the Russian gas company agreed with this assessment. He said the main impact would be on gas storage as Astora, a subsidiary of Gazprom Germania, has facilities with a total capacity of 6 billion cubic meters in Germany and Austria. It was unclear whether the German government would like to intervene and instruct someone to lead them in order to achieve the desired levels of filling, and whether this could provoke legal opposition from Gazprom, the source said. Astora did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The move further complicates energy ties between Russia and Germany, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree imposing ruble tariffs on gas to buyers from countries Moscow considers unfriendly. Berlin rejects the change, as existing contracts are set in euros and the economy minister told him on Thursday that he would not be “blackmailed by Putin”. Germany is dependent on Russian gas for about 40 percent of its needs, but has joined Western sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine, including the shutdown of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline designed to double flow. Russian gas directly to Germany. The German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Thursday that the German Economy Ministry was considering expropriating Gazprom and Rosneft (ROSN.MM) units in the country amid concerns over security of energy supply. read more The Kremlin said on Friday that any such move would be a violation of international law. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional references by Vera Eckert and Christoph Steitz, written by Mark Trevelyan, Edited by William Maclean Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
