UK Sanctions Gazprombank, Alfa Bank and Sovcomflot
Britain froze the assets of Russia's Gazprombank and Alfa Bank, and the state-run shipping firm Sovcomflot FLOT.MM, in its latest round of sanctions announced on Thursday.They were among 59 individuals and entities added to the sanctions list which has been used to target Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine.Gazprombank is one of main channels for payments for Russian oil and gas.Alfa-Bank is one of Russia's top private lenders, controlled by Mikhail Fridman, who was sanctioned by Britain earlier this monthā¦
Wintershall Dea Writes Off $1.1B Nord Stream 2 financing
German oil and gas firm Wintershall Dea, one of the five co-funders of Nord Stream 2, on Wednesday said it is writing off its 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) financing in the gas pipeline that was suspended last week.The management board of Wintershall Dea said on Wednesday it would no longer be advancing or implementing further projects in Russia and would be stopping payments to Russia immediately.The company, co-owned by BASF and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investor group LetterOne, said it would remain involved in the existing Yuzhno Russkoye and Achimov natural gas production pr
Lundin Petroleum Finds More Oil in Norway's Arctic
Sweden's Lundin Petroleum has found additional oil and gas near its Alta discovery in the Norwegian Arctic, the firm and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Tuesday. "The total gross resource estimate for the Neiden discovery is between 25 and 60 million barrels of oil equivalents," Lundin Petroleum said in a statement. Lundin is the operator of the well and has a 40-percent stake. Its partners are Japan's Idemitsu and DEA, the oil firm controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, who have stakes of 30 percent, respectively. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Russian Oligarch Responds to UK in North Sea Deal Row
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne fund said on Wednesday it had provided Britain's energy ministry with a detailed response as part of its attempt to complete a deal to purchase assets in the North Sea. Britain has blocked the deal citing potential new sanctions against Russia and has given the fund seven days to come up with new proposals or face calls to sell the assets to a third party. LetterOne is buying the assets from Germany's RWE. "We... continue to engage with the department (of energy). We will leave no stone unturned to find a solution," LetterOne said. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov. Editing by Jane Merriman)
UK Will Force Fridman to sell N.Sea Assets
Britain is ready to force the sale of Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman's recently acquired North Sea energy assets unless it receives unspecified assurances within the next week, Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said on Thursday. Britain on Wednesday wrote to Fridman's investment vehicle saying he had seven days to explain why he should be allowed to retain ownership of North Sea assets just acquired from German utility RWE. "If assurances are not supplied, we've set out our position and our intention to act, and the prime minister entirely agrees with that," Cameron's spokesman told reporters. RWE on Monday finalised the sale of its oil and gas production unit DEA UK to Fridman's investment vehicle LetterOneā¦
Former BP Boss Browne is DEA Chairman
FRANKFURT, March 3 (Reuters) - DEA, the oil and gas company that German utility RWE sold to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, has appointed former BP boss John Browne as its new supervisory board chairman. Fridman's investment vehicle LetterOne bought the firm from RWE in a 5.1 billion euro ($5.7 billion) deal finalised on Monday, brushing aside British opposition against the sale of some licences held by DEA in the North Sea. The transaction was first announced a year ago, coinciding with Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, sparking concern in some EU countries about whether a European oil and gas business should fall into Russian hands.
Germany Could Stop RWE Unit Sale
Germany's Economy Ministry is investigating whether to block the sale of RWE's oil and gas unit DEA to a group of investors led by Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman, a spokeswoman said. The German government has never previously made use of a clause in its foreign trade law, under which it could stop the deal announced earlier this year if there were concrete signs it threatened "public safety and order". "An investigation has been started. It is an open-ended investigation (to find out) whether there are conditions for prohibiting the deal under the foreign trade accord," a spokeswoman for the Economy Ministry told Reuters. Spiegel magazine on Sunday reported the ministry had started to look into the deal following fresh information but did not give further details.
