By: Dr. Franyi Sarmiento, Ph.D., Inspenet, April 6, 2022.
The German government took control of Gazprom Germania to prevent the liquidation of the company and to guarantee security of supply in the gas market. The subsidiary of the Russian gas company owns gas storage assets in Europe and has important supply contracts with German industry. The European Commission will propose to ban coal imports from Russia.
“Gazprom Germania GmbH operates critical infrastructure in Germany and is therefore of great importance for the gas supply,” the Economy Ministry reported. The subsidiary of the Russian gas giant, Gazprom, will be temporarily controlled by the government, which feared a possible liquidation of the company.
Gazprom Germania, which owns energy provider Wingas GmbH and a gas storage company, will remain under the supervision of Germany’s energy regulator until September 30. The Minister of the Economy, Robert Habeck, explained that the Federal Network Agency will assume the role of shareholder and can make all the decisions that are necessary to guarantee security of supply, although the government does not seek to nationalize the company.
“The federal government is doing what is necessary to ensure security of supply in Germany,” Habeck said. “This also means that we do not allow energy infrastructure in Germany to be subject to arbitrary decisions by the Kremlin,” he argued.
The subsidiary also operates beyond Germany. “Gazprom Germania is also present in other European countries, such as the Czech Republic and Switzerland, and plays an important role in their gas supply,” the economy minister said.
The decision, which implies a sort of nationalization of the company, is in line with the growing European concern about gas storage assets. The European Commission proposed to intervene in this strategic segment for the gas market. Among the proposals is the creation of a mandatory certification that could force companies to cede or sell their gas stores if they create obstacles to the normal functioning of the market. Germany seems to have detected this particular possibility in the case of Gazprom Germania.
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