• https://www.bolnews.com/world/2022/11/austria-claims-that-its-reliance-on-russian-gas-supplies-is-waning-2/Despite sanctions, Gazprom continues to supply reduced gas volumes to continental Europe via pipelines.
• Gazprom International UK, a Gazprom subsidiary, achieved a pre-tax profit of £39 million in 2022.
• All of Gazprom International UK’s revenues are generated from sales outside the UK.

Gazprom has been extracting gas from the Sillimanite field, spanning UK and Dutch waters, since 2020. The field operates as a joint venture between Gazprom and the German company Wintershall. The gas is transported onshore to the Netherlands.

Sir Ed Davey criticized said it is “totally unacceptable” that UK territory is contributing to “Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine.” In response, the UK government has pledged to increase economic pressure on Russia.

the UK, US, and EU have implemented stringent economic sanctions to curb Russia’s capacity to profit from energy exports. This decision was made when the joint venture’s operations were not deemed illegal.

Several Gazprom executives, including CEO Alexei Miller, are under UK sanctions. However, Gazprom itself remains unaffected and continues to supply reduced gas volumes to continental Europe via pipelines.

Financial reports indicate that Gazprom International UK, a Gazprom subsidiary, achieved a pre-tax profit of £39 million in 2022. The company paid a £41 million dividend to Gazprom International Projects BV. Its immediate owner is in the Netherlands and an additional £1.7 million dividend in June of the current year. The ultimate owner of Gazprom is PJSC Gazprom, based in Moscow.

It is noteworthy that Gazprom, majority-owned by the Russian state, holds the position of Russia’s largest taxpayer, contributing £63 billion to the Russian government. Additionally, Gazprom has been involved in recruiting and financing militias that have actively participated in the Ukraine conflict.

Shell trading Russian gas despite pledge to stop

Sir Ed, a former energy secretary, said it was “totally unacceptable that gas taken from UK territory is bolstering the coffers of Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine”. Campaign group Global Witness called it “an indictment of the UK’s approach to Russian oil and gas”.

“Whilst the government decries the war, it’s absurd to allow the subsidiary of a Russian state enterprise which has its militia fighting in Ukraine to enrich Putin’s regime from the North Sea,” it added.

A government spokesman said it would “continue to work alongside our partners to deny Russia access to any of our goods or technologies that it could use in its war machine, restricting Russia’s ability to fight a 21st-century war”.

“Putin and his supporters must – and will – pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine,” he added.

“We will continue to ratchet up economic pressure and come down hard on all emerging forms of circumvention until Ukraine prevails and peace is secured.”

The company’s overall tax payment amounted to €29 million, with contributions made to both the UK and Dutch governments. This figure includes €4 million paid under the UK windfall tax, imposed on energy companies in the aftermath of rising prices due to the conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, €5 million was paid under the Dutch equivalent of this tax.

Notably, all of Gazprom International UK’s revenues are generated from sales outside the UK, as stated in the financial records. The company terminated its gas sales agreement with Wintershall in September of the current year and replaced it with a new agreement to sell gas to the Swiss-based trading company Gunvor.

It’s worth mentioning that Gazprom’s UK energy supply business, which catered to thousands of business customers, was taken over by the German government last year. The reason for taking over the parent company is the financial difficulties that led to bankruptcy. This business has since been renamed SEFE Energy.

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