14-11-2012
BASF and Gazprom agree on asset swap
Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, and Alexej Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of OAO Gazprom, today (November 14, 2012) signed a legally binding basic agreement to swap assets of equivalent value. Through the swap, BASF aims to further expand its production of oil and gas and to exit the gas trading and storage business. Subject to the approval by the relevant authorities, the transaction is to be completed by the end of 2013 and financially retroactive to April 1, 2013.
Through the agreement, two additional blocks of the Achimov formation of the Urengoi natural gas and condensate field in western Siberia will be jointly developed. Wintershall, a 100% subsidiary of BASF, will receive 25% plus one share of the blocks IV and V in the Achimov formation together with the option to increase the share in the two gas and condensate deposits to 50%. According to the development plan confirmed by the Russian mining authority, blocks IV and V have total hydrocarbon resources of 274 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 74 million metric tons of condensate. This is equivalent to a total of 2.4 billion barrel of oil equivalent. A total annual plateau production of at least 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas is expected from the two blocks. Start of production is planned for 2016.
In return, Wintershall will completely transfer the currently jointly operated natural gas trading and storage business to its long-term partner Gazprom. This includes the 50% shares in the gas trading companies WINGAS, WIEH (Wintershall Erdgashandelshaus Berlin) and WIEE (Wintershall Erdgashandelshaus Zug) including shares in the natural gas storage facilities in Rehden and Jemgum, Germany, as well as Haidach, Austria, and the gas storage operator astora. Gazprom will also receive a 50% share in the activities of Wintershall Noordzee B.V., which is active in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the southern North Sea (Netherlands, UK and Denmark). Together the activities to be divested contributed €8.6 billion to sales and €350 million to income from operations (EBIT) of the BASF Group in 2011. The partnership in the area of the construction, operation and marketing of natural gas pipelines will continue unchanged.
“The asset swap is consistent with our strategy to expand the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas – through organic growth and targeted acquisitions,” said Dr. Kurt Bock. “With this step, we are further developing our more than 20 year partnership: Gazprom will become more active in the natural gas trading and storage business and we will jointly expand the production at the source.”
“Through the agreement, Gazprom and BASF are confirming their strategic partnership on the international energy market. By increasing our share in the gas trading and storage business, we are continuing our successful activities to secure the supply of gas for Europe. The agreement on exploration and production extends the geographic dimension of our cooperation, which has already successfully started with production projects in Russia,” said Alexej Miller.
Wintershall has been the preferred partner of Gazprom for many years in the production of natural gas in Russia. With the projects Yuzhno Russkoye and Achimgaz, Wintershall – Germany’s largest internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer – and Gazprom already jointly produce gas. The competitive advantages that Wintershall has through its technological competence, operational excellence and long-term cooperations with national oil companies are becoming even more important in the area of exploration and production of oil and gas. The traditional natural gas trading business, however, offers Wintershall little possibility for differentiation.
Today, the expansion of activities at the source has already been successful. Since 2000, Wintershall’s production of crude oil and natural gas has increased from 80 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to an expected around 140 million boe in 2012. This is an average increase of 5% per year. By 2015, the company plans to increase production to at least 160 million boe. Especially the production of oil and gas in Russia and the northern North Sea is to be expanded.
News Category:
-
Beyond processbook & PI vision: Exploring today’s industrial analytics tools
(Webinar) - In the Manufacturing 4.0 era, industrial organizations have more data at their fingertips than ever, offering the promise of higher production rates, more ...
04-06-2024
-
Sasol provides state of the art catalysts to INERATEC for the production of sustainable e-fuels
The catalysts will be used, among others, in the first large-scale industrial Power-to-Liquid (PtL) plant that INERATEC is currently building in Frankfurt, Germany, which ...
24-04-2024
-
Baker Hughes to supply 17 centrifugal compressors to Saudi Master Gas System project
Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, announced Tuesday that it has received an order by Worley, for and on behalf of Aramco, to supply gas technology equipment ...
23-04-2024
-
SABIC Fujian Petrochemicals select Phenol yechnology from KBR
KBR announced today it has been awarded a contract by SABIC Fujian Petrochemicals to license KBR's market-leading phenol technology in China. Under the terms of the ...
22-04-2024
-
Lummus Expands R&D capabilities to enhance innovation and water and wastewater technologies
Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced the opening of its cutting-edge research and development (R&D) ...
17-04-2024
-
Clariant launches new CATOFIN® 312 propane dehydrogenation catalyst
Clariant, a sustainability-focused specialty chemical company, today announced the launch of CATOFIN 312, its latest propane dehydrogenation catalyst. The new catalyst ...
16-04-2024
-
Yokogawa and GridBeyond conclude investment and strategic partnership agreements
Yokogawa Electric Corporation and energy IT solutions provider GridBeyond of Ireland announce that they have concluded a strategic partnership agreement. Furthermore, ...
16-04-2024
-
Heraeus Precious Metals launches Circlear
Heraeus Precious Metals, a globally leading company in the precious metals industry and one of the largest recyclers of precious metals, has introduced its new offering ...
16-04-2024
-
EMA and JERA to cooperate on LNG procurement and supply chains
The Energy Market Authority and JERA Co Inc, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on mutually beneficial areas in liquefied natural gas procurement ...
16-04-2024
-
Hexagon and Dragos unveil technical partnership to strengthen industrial cybersecurity
Hexagon’s Asset Lifecycle Intelligence division today announced a strategic partnership with Dragos, a global leader in cybersecurity for operational technology (OT). ...
16-04-2024