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The German government said on Thursday that it has nationalised energy company Uniper after the European Union gave its blessing for it to rescue the gas supplier. The government announced its plan to nationalise Uniper in September, expanding state intervention in the energy sector to prevent a shortage resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine. The deal built on an initial rescue package agreed in July and features a capital increase of 8 billion euros (USD 8.5 billion) that Germany is financing. Uniper's existing shareholders approved the measures on Monday. The EU's executive Commission gave its conditional approval on Tuesday. The government is obliged to reduce its stake to 25 per cent plus one share by 2028, a deadline that can only be extended with the Commission's approval. Germany's finance and economy ministries said Thursday that the government has now taken a stake of some 99 per cent in the company. Uniper's existing management remains in place. Uniper was controlled u
Russian energy giant Gazprom has threatened to reduce natural gas supplies through the last pipeline heading to Europe via Ukraine, saying the amount it's supplying for Moldova is not ending up in the former Soviet republic. Gazprom says the gas company of Europe's poorest country, Moldovagaz, paid for part of its November flows of gas under its contract. It added that nearly 25 million cubic metres has been supplied this month but not paid for. The Russian state-owned company tweeted that if the imbalance observed during the transit of gas to the Moldovan consumers across Ukraine continues, Gazprom will start reducing its gas supplies" through Ukraine starting Monday. Both Moldova and Ukraine hit back at Gazprom, with Ukraine saying all supplies that Russia sent through the country were fully transferred" to Moldova. This is not the first time that Russia resorts to using gas as a tool of political pressure. This is a gross manipulation of facts in order to justify the decision to
State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd on Thursday reported a 46 per cent drop in its September quarter net profit as it slashed petrochemical output after a former unit of Russian energy giant Gazprom stopped gas supplies. Net profit stood at Rs 1,537.07 crore in July-September compared with Rs 2,862.95 crore profit in the same period a year back, according to a stock exchange filing of the company. The profit for the firm that transports and sells natural gas to users like fertiliser plants and CNG retailers was sequentially down 47.2 per cent from Rs 2,915.19 crore profit in the April-June quarter. GAIL's mainstay natural gas marketing business saw revenues doubled but profitability declined 66 per cent as higher gas prices, resulting from a global surge in energy rates following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, hurt margins. It posted a pre-tax loss of Rs 346.22 crore in the petrochemical business in Q2 as compared to a pre-tax profit of Rs 363.29 crore a year back and Rs 35.16
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via a link of Germany-bound Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Speaking at a Moscow energy forum, Putin again charged that the U.S. was likely behind the explosions that ripped through both links of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one of the two links of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, causing a massive gas leak and taking them out of service. The U.S. has previously rejected similar allegations by Putin.
Europe faces unprecedented risks to its natural gas supplies this winter after Russia cut off most pipeline shipments and could wind up competing with Asia for already scarce and expensive liquid gas that comes by ship, the International Energy Agency said. The Paris-based IEA said in its quarterly gas report released Monday that European Union countries would need to reduce use by 13% over the winter in case of a complete Russian cutoff amid the war in Ukraine. Much of that cutback would have to come from consumer behavior such as turning down thermostats by 1 degree and adjusting boiler temperatures as well as industrial and utility conservation, the group said. The EU on Friday agreed to mandate a reduction in electricity consumption by at least 5% during peak price hours. Just a trickle of Russian gas is still arriving in pipelines through Ukraine to Slovakia and across the Black Sea through Turkey to Bulgaria. Two other routes, under the Baltic Sea to Germany and through Belaru
A fourth leak on the Nord Stream pipelines has been reported off southern Sweden, the Swedish news agency said on Thursday. Sweden's coast guards told news agency TT that they have a vessel on the site of the leak, off Sweden. All four detected leaks are in international waters, two near Sweden and two near Denmark. The Nord Stream pipelines run through the Baltic to transport gas from Russia to Germany. Neither pipeline was operating, but both were filled with gas. The Danish and Swedish governments believe that the leaks off their countries were deliberate actions. Before the leaks were reported, explosions were recorded. A first explosion was recorded by seismologists early on Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions. Some European officials and energy experts have said Russia is likel
European companies are ramping up security around pipelines and energy prices are climbing again as the suspected sabotage of two pipelines that deliver natural gas from Russia underscored the vulnerability of Europe's energy infrastructure and prompted the EU to warn of possible retaliation. Some European officials and energy experts have said Russia is likely to blame for any sabotage it directly benefits from higher energy prices and economic anxiety across Europe although others cautioned against pointing fingers until investigators are able to determine what happened. Russia has sharply curtailed natural gas shipments to Europe in retaliation for sanctions that the West put in place after its invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russian energy giant Gazprom increased the pressure, threatening on Twitter to cease dealing with a Ukrainian company that controls one of the two remaining pipelines that ship Russian gas to Europe. Coming on top of the apparent sabotage to the Nord ..