OREANDA-NEWS. November 14, 2012. Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Kurt Bock, Chairman of the BASF Board of Executive Directors signed at the Gazprom headquarters today a basic agreement on asset swap. The legally binding document provides for major terms and conditions for the asset swap deal under the project for joint development of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoy oil, gas and condensate field. The final agreements are expected to be made in 2013.

According to the document, Wintershall may acquire 25 per cent plus one share in the new joint venture on developing blocks 4A and 5A in the Achimov deposits of the Urengoy field.

In addition, the Agreement provides for Gazprom to receive a 50 per cent stake in WINZ, which runs natural gas exploration and production projects in the North Sea, and increase its stakes in gas trading and storage companies of WINGAS Group to 100 per cent, as well as in WIEH and WIEE – to 100 per cent.
“Gazprom and BASF have confirmed their common aspiration to promote the strategic partnership in the international energy market. By increasing stakes in gas trading and storage companies we will continue our successful joint efforts on securing reliable gas supplies to Europe. The agreements reached in gas exploration and production projects expand the geographic reach of our mutual activities that started from production projects in Russia,” said Alexey Miller.

“The asset swap deal is consistent with our strategy to expand the extraction and production of crude oil and natural gas – through organic growth and targeted acquisitions. 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,” said Kurt Bock.

BASF is the world's leading petrochemical company. Its operational activities are focused on the following segments: chemicals, plastics, plant protection products as well as hydrocarbons extraction and transportation.

Being a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF, Wintershall Holding operates in the power generation industry. Gazprom and Wintershall Holding set up joint ventures: WINGAS, WIEH and WIEE.

Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus Zug (WIEE) is a joint venture of Wintershall (50 per cent) and Gazprom (50 per cent). The company is focused on Russian natural gas supplies to the countries of Southeastern Europe and analysis of potential investments in the national gas markets of these countries.

Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus (WIEH) is a joint venture of Wintershall (50 per cent) and Gazprom (50 per cent). The company operates in the gas trading sector and performs natural gas purchasing, transportation, storage and marketing in various European countries.

WINGAS is a joint venture of Wintershall (50 per cent plus one ordinary share) and Gazprom (50 per cent less one ordinary share). WINGAS is focused on natural gas trading. The company supplies hydrocarbons to customers in Germany, Belgium, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark. WINGAS customers include municipal and regional gas suppliers, industrial enterprises and power plants.

Focused on geological exploration and hydrocarbons production offshore the North Sea, Wintershall Noordzee (WINZ) is part of Wintershall Holding Group.

BASF and Wintershall Holding partner Gazprom in developing the Yuzhno-Russkoye field and the Achimov deposits in the Urengoy field as well as constructing the Nord stream and the South Stream gas pipelines.

The Achimov deposits lie at depths of nearly 4,000 meters and feature abnormally high formation pressures (over 600 Ata) and heavy paraffins presence. Geological exploration has proven the Achimov deposits productivity across a vast area of the Nadym-Pur-Taz region. The bulk of recoverable hydrocarbon reserves of the Achimov deposits are accumulated in the Urengoy oil, gas and condensate field with Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy (Gazprom's fully-owned subsidiary) being the subsurface user. The Achimov deposits contained in Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy owned fields alone account for more than 1 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 200 million tons of gas condensate (category C1).

In July 2003 Gazprom and Wintershall Holding (wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF) set up the Achimgaz joint venture to develop the first pilot block of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoy field. In 2008 Achimgaz brought the block into pilot operation.