A letter with a purchase offer from four Norwegian companies was sent to the partially state-owned Austrian energy company OMV and to Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP). “We received a letter, but first we have to evaluate the strategy for all areas before we can comment on such considerations,” confirmed an OMV spokesman for “trend”. A second offer from the US was also made, reports the magazine.
This revives the previously discussed idea of dividing OMV: in petrochemistry on the one hand, and in exploration and production of fossil fuels on the other. The energy crisis and the quest for independence from Russian gas are giving these ideas a boost.
The total value of OMV’s oil and gas production and processing is given as six billion euros. It is speculated that this could be spun off into a subsidiary of OMV, in which the Scandinavians could participate as strategic partners. In any case, in addition to the purchase price, they have promised investments in new production capacities in Norway. The business magazine reports that the long-term security of the company headquarters in Austria has also been promised.
Trusteeship for Rosneft
In Germany, the government has taken control of Russian refiner Rosneft, whose refinery in Schwedt, east Germany, is where the Druzhba oil pipeline from Russia terminates. The Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Friday that this is taking action against a threat to energy security. The public sector wants to invest more than one billion euros there. With the fiduciary solution in Schwedt, Germany is securing its oil supply in the medium and long term.
In the past few months, a working group had already tried to supply Schwedt with oil from tankers via Rostock and also the Polish port of Gdansk. Rosneft holds a majority stake of a good 54 percent in the refinery, Shell around 37.5 percent. Germany has already put Gazprom’s German subsidiaries under trusteeship through the Federal Network Agency. Here, too, the basis is the Energy Security Act.
New Africa gas pipeline in EU
Europe is taking a step towards greater independence from Russian gas indirectly: Nigeria and Morocco have agreed on a pipeline project for gas supplies to West Africa and Europe via Spain. The 5,600-kilometer pipeline will pass through 13 African countries along the Atlantic coast. A target date for completion was not given.
Source: Nachrichten
