Media: Germany may nationalize a branch of Russian Gazprom

The German federal government created a holding company to be able to nationalize the German branch of the Russian state company Gazprom, Gazprom Germania, as soon as possible.

This is reported by the German publication Welt.

Germanyʼs Federal Ministry of Economics confirmed that they are aware of the establishment of such a company.

"This was prepared in May 2022 solely as a precautionary measure for any restructuring measures," a ministry spokeswoman told reporters.

According to the partnership agreement available to journalists, two lawyers from the German division of the international law firm CMS Hasche Sigle became the managing directors of the company.

The German government took control of Gazprom Germania in April 2022. The company was later renamed Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE). It is still under the supervision of the Federal Network Agency of Germany.

• Since June 16, Gazprom has reduced supplies of the Nord Stream gas pipeline to 40% of the nominal capacity, explaining this by the fact that Canada, due to sanctions, did not return the turbine needed for the gas pipeline. Canada made an exception to sanctions against Russia, repaired the turbine and sent it to Germany, but Russia has not yet picked it up. Against this background, Russiaʼs Gazprom reduced gas supplies through Nord Stream to 20% of the pipeʼs capacity.
• The study showed that Russia sends large volumes of natural gas simply into the air. The station, located near the border with Finland, burns about $10 million worth of gas every day.