OREANDA-NEWS. The town of Lomonosov (Leningrad Region) hosted today a ceremony dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the cooperation between Gazprom and BASF/Wintershall.

“25 years is a relatively short period of time. But together with our German partners we’ve managed to achieve quite a lot during these 25 years. We began with simple cooperation in the area of gas supplies and today we work together across the entire value chain in the gas industry – from upstream to downstream. Together we’ve delivered large-scale projects, which boosted the European gas market development and helped to create a gas transmission network not only in Germany, but in other European countries as well.

Our cooperation with BASF/Wintershall may serve as an example of trust between the companies, example of strategic vision of the business development and a striking illustration of significant contribution to the EU energy security. With our German partners we have great plans and new ambitious projects lying ahead. I am absolutely sure we’ll be able to successfully accomplish them,” said Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee.

“Our cooperation makes outstanding contribution towards securing energy supplies to Europe,” noted Kurt Bock, Chairman of the BASF Board of Executive Directors at the ceremony. He said that it was the time when the Russian-German partnership offered good chances. “Business can build bridges. BASF/Wintershall and Gazprom are keen to further advance their cooperation,” Kurt Bock said. He also reminded that it was not just long-term business relations that had bonded the companies together. “We are connected by a potential that opens up the bright future for our businesses. I am confident that Russia is and will remain a major and reliable supplier of oil, natural gas and other energy sources to Europe, and Europe is and will remain an important and stable sales market for Russia. We are proud of our achievements and we are happy to tackle future challenges,” summarized Kurt Bock.

BASF’s portfolio includes chemicals, synthetics, petroleum derivatives, plant protection products, oil and gas.

Wintershall Holding is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF. The company has been focused on oil and gas exploration and production for over 80 years.

The year of 1990 saw the start of business relations between Gazprom and BASF/Wintershall, which set up WIEH joint venture responsible for selling natural gas in Europe. Later on, WIEE and WINGAS joint ventures also started selling natural gas in the European market; the cooperation in gas transmission and storage sectors began.

Gazprom and BASF/Wintershall made a great input into developing the European gas transmission infrastructure. By building the MIDAL-STEGAL-JAGAL-WEDAL gas network they managed to boost gas transmission capacities in Germany and enhance ties with other European gas transmission networks.

The year of 2011 was special for the cooperation between the companies: the Nord Stream gas pipeline directly connected the Russian supplier and the European consumers. Gazprom and BASF/Wintershall are currently engaged in another Pan-European project – construction of Nord Stream II.

BASF/Wintershall was the first foreign company to launch, jointly with Gazprom, natural gas production in Siberia. Today BASF/Wintershall partners Gazprom in developing the Yuzhno-Russkoye and Urengoyskoye fields.

On September 30, 2015 Gazprom and BASF/Wintershall closed the asset swap deal, according to which Gazprom increased its share WINGAS, WIEH and WIEE to 100 per cent as well as received a 50 per cent stake in WINZ involved in hydrocarbon exploration and production in the North Sea.

In its turn, Wintershall obtained 25.01 per cent in the project for developing Blocks 4A and 5A in the Achimov deposits of the Urengoyskoye field.