Gazprom, OMV Discuss Asset Swap, NS2

The CEOs of Russian giant Gazprom and Austria’s OMV met November 16 in Moscow and discussed “issues related to the asset swap between Gazprom and OMV” according to a statement from Gazprom that did not elaborate. The Austrian firm confirmed to NGW that further negotiations took place at the meeting, but also declined to comment further.  

OMV CEO Rainer Seele (second from right) at the November 16 meeting at Gazprom's HQ; upstream chief Johann Pleininger is on Seele's right (Photo credit: Gazprom)

OMV's planned upstream asset swap with Gazprom announced on April 1 appeared by September to have hit a hurdle, with reports that Oslo wanted to block Gazprom from acquiring more than 25% of OMV's assets in Norway.

Energy minister Tord Lien told NGW in an interview mid-November that Norway's decision to approve the transfer would depend on what the stakes were and the size of the resources. So far nothing formal has materialised, he said, but it would be evaluated by the ministry if it did.

Most of Gazprom's statement pointed to a 31.5% year-on-year increase in its supplies to Austria between January and mid-November 2016 to 5.1bn m³. Supplies in November 1-15 were up 118.9%. Its full year 2015 exports to Austria were 4.4bn m³.

But Gazprom also mentioned that the meeting "paid special attention” to the Nord Stream 2 project (NS2).

Five West European energy companies and Gazprom withdrew their application to form the NS2 consortium in August, following a challenge from the Polish competition authority. Since then, however, the six vowed they would get the planned 55bn m³/yr NS2 developed in some other way. More recently Gazprom was enabled to use more of its existing NS1 capacity, following an EU decision to let it have greater access to the onward Opal pipe.  In the meantime, Gazprom's linepipe for NS2 is arriving from the mills and the weight-coating contract has been signed.

Mark Smedley