MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Wintershall Dea, one of the largest oil and gas companies in Europe, is studying possible options to exit its Russian assets and taking personnel out of the country, the German company’s CEO Mario Mehren said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"We no longer see any prospects for the energy partnership in and with Russia for the foreseeable future. Our decision is final. We have been taking appropriate steps over the past weeks. We started the winddown of our St. Petersburg office by reducing the number of our local colleagues. We are also bringing our expatriated colleagues in Russia back to their home locations. And we are exploring different options of how to exit the assets as such," he said.
According to Mehren, there are now less than 50 people left in the company's office in St. Petersburg, which is 50% less than at the beginning of 2023.
Meanwhile, the exit process from Russian assets is complex, as the Russian authorities are allegedly creating "constantly new hurdles, obstacles and administrative processes for those wanting to leave the country," Mehren said.
The exact timing of the completion of the procedure for exiting enterprises in Russia remains unclear, he stressed.
On January 17, Wintershall Dea announced its intention to leave Russia. Wintershall will exit its assets in the country in accordance with current legal obligations and will record a loss of 5.3 billion euros from the deconsolidation of joint ventures in Russia.
Wintershall Dea was one of the financial investors of Nord Stream 2. It is a shareholder of the Nord Stream gas pipeline operator (15.5%), owns 25.01% in the Achim Development joint project with Gazprom (74.99%), as well as, together with Gazprom and the Austrian OMV, manages the Severneftegazprom joint venture, which develops the Yuzhno-Russkoye field.