Wintershall Acquire a 15 % Stake in South Stream AG

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the OAO Gazprom Management Committee, and Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Moscow, which will see the BASF subsidiary Wintershall acquire a 15 percent stake in the company South Stream AG.

Gazprom will retain its 50 percent shareholding according to the agreement. The company South Stream AG will develop, construct and operate the offshore section of the South Stream Pipeline, which will run through the Black Sea. The Memorandum of Understanding also stipulates the conclusion of new long-term gas supply agreements for the joint natural gas trading company WIEE (Wintershall Erdgashandelshaus Zug) for its sales activities in southeast Europe. The Memorandum was signed in the presence of the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

“Gazprom and Wintershall have a long history of partnership that overcame such challenges as joint pre-development of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoy field and launch of the Nord Stream gas pipeline construction. The interest of European energy majors in the partnership within the South Stream project proves significance and relevance of the project for Europe,” said Alexey Miller.

“With Gazprom and other European partners we have already shown how we can enhance the security of the natural gas supply in Europe with the Nord Stream Baltic Sea Pipeline. Together we are now strengthening supply security in the southeast EU Member States, where Gazprom and Wintershall have already been successfully involved in gas trading for many years. As economic growth in the region increases, so does the demand for gas. In the future, we can supply these customers directly and reliably via the South Stream pipeline,” Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht explained.