OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) Wednesday agreed an asset swap with Germany's BASF SE (BAS.XE) that industry analysts said will likely help the Russian gas giant avoid a repeat of winter supply disruptions that have occurred in recent years.
OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) Wednesday agreed an asset swap with
Germany
's
BASF SE (BAS.XE) that industry analysts said will likely help the Russian gas
giant avoid a repeat of winter supply disruptions that have occurred in recent
years.
After the swap, Gazprom will take 100% ownership of the gas trading and storage
joint venture in
Germany
and
Austria
it
has operated with BASF unit Wintershall since 1993. Gazprom will also receive a
50% stake in
North Sea
gas and oil exploration and
production company
Wintershall Noordzee BV
.
BASF will receive two blocks of a natural gas field in
Western
Siberia
, with an expected production capacity of 8 billion cubic meters of
natural gas. Production is expected to start there in 2016.
In all, Gazprom is taking command of companies that generated 8.6 billion euros
($10.93 billion) in sales last year.
Full control of the trading and storage venture will give Gazprom more
flexibility in maintaining supplies into
Western Europe
by
adjusting to spikes in demand that can occur in sudden cold spells, analysts
said.
"Increasing our stake in gas trading and storage enterprises will allow us
to continue our successful efforts to ensure a reliable supply of gas to
Europe
,"
said Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller.
Disputes over pricing and allegations of illegal siphoning of gas have twice
disrupted Russian gas supplies for Europe shipped through Ukraine in the last
decade, most recently in 2009. A severe cold spell in February of this year led
to shortfalls across
Eastern Europe
as domestic gas demand in
Russia
hit
record highs.
Gazprom has worked steadily at stabilizing its supply of gas to
Europe
. It
completed deals this month with a number of Eastern European countries to build
the $20.5 billion South Stream pipeline. The project, which will bring gas
directly from
Russia
into
Southern
Europe
under the
Black Sea
, bypassing
Ukraine
, aims
to be operational by 2015. It will deliver 63 billion cubic meters of gas a
year, representing about 14% of EU consumption.
Gazprom is already operating another pipeline, called Nord Stream, which runs
under the
Baltic Sea
and will eventually be able to deliver 55 billion
cubic meters a year of gas into northern
Germany
.
Analysts say the asset swap lets Gazprom store gas closer to its customers in
Europe
. "It
will facilitate gas sales to
Europe
and
make the market more stable," said Sberbank Investment Research's Valery
Nesterov.
More stable supply will likely lead to fewer big moves in gas prices, and
"protect Gazprom from criticism over gas pricing and unevenness in supply
that it has come under in the past," Mr. Nesterov said.
The BASF deal comes as Gazprom is subject to an antitrust probe by the European
Commission into whether it has broken antimonopoly rules by imposing unfair gas
prices through contracts linked to oil prices, or prevented countries from
diversifying their gas supplies. Gazprom denies these charges.
The deal is subject to approval by regulators and the companies said in a joint
statement they expect it to be completed by the end of 2013.
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