Uniper writes off Nord Stream 2 and wants to sell Unipro in Russia | Economic news from Germany

The German energy company Uniper, a longtime partner of Gazprom, has announced a radical review of its business with Russia. In a detailed message published on its website on the evening of March 7, Uniper, condemning the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, announced the decision to write off financial participation in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the amount of almost 1 billion euros and no longer enter into long-term contracts for the supply of Russian natural gas. gas.

In addition, Uniper, which has been part of the Finnish semi-state concern Fortum since 2020, intends to immediately resume the process of selling its Russian subsidiary Unipro PJSC, one of the leaders in the Russian electric power industry with five power plants.

Losses from participation in Nord Stream 2 amounted to 987 million euros

The report quoted Uniper CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach as saying there was “no justification for the war in Ukraine.” “It is very important that the federal government is now doing everything in its human power to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian raw material exports,” Maubach said. The company’s contribution will include, among other things, the resumption of the project for the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Wilhelmshaven.

Uniper CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach

At the same time, all existing contracts with Russia and Russian companies will continue to be fulfilled – in order to maintain a stable energy supply to Germany, Klaus-Dieter Maubach stressed. Uniper, headquartered in Düsseldorf, owns the assets of Ruhrgas AG, acquired in 2003, the oldest Siberian gas importer in Germany since the Soviet era.

Uniper’s losses from financial participation in the Nord Stream 2 project will amount to 987 million euros. Of these, 695 million euros were provided in the form of a loan to the Swiss subsidiary of Gazprom, Nord Stream 2 AG. Interest accrued on this loan in the amount of 292 million euros will also be written off. The second German financier of the project, Wintershall Dea, canceled its participation in it on 2 March.

Abandonment of a subsidiary of Unipro, which brought 160 million net profit

The process of selling Unipro PJSC, which began at the end of 2021 and was interrupted “due to the current situation,” will be resumed “as soon as possible,” Uniper said in a statement. It owns 83.73% of the shares of the Russian subsidiary, which provided the parent company with approximately 160 million euros in net profit.

The program to modernize five Russian power plants with a total capacity of more than 11 gigawatts (GW) will continue, but Uniper refuses new investment projects in Russia, the report said. In addition, the German company suspends the transfer of money to Unipro PJSC for an indefinite period. This Russian company has approximately 4,300 employees.

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Author: Andrey Gurkov