Gazprom earns millions from deposits in Denmark and Great Britain. “It’s unacceptable”
Gazprom earned over EUR 45 million in 2022 from production in the Sillimanite field. It lies in the territorial waters of Denmark and Great Britain.
Major controversy surrounding the presence of Russian Gazprom in the North Sea. British politicians are outraged by the company’s financial results. It was one of the main weapons in Vladimir Putin’s hand in Putin’s energy blackmail, and is also one of the largest machines financing the war in Ukraine.
Sir Ed Davey stated that this is the situation “totally unacceptable”. He decided that it could not be that the gas came from the territory of Great Britain “finances Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine”.
Gazprom earns millions in Europe
The controversy results from the fact that the company’s financial reports show that in 2022, i.e. during the full-scale war on Ukrainian territory, Gazprom earned millions of euros from the extraction of natural gas from the Sillimanite field in the North Sea, i.e. the territorial waters of Great Britain and Denmark. All this at a time when the European Union and Great Britain were imposing further economic sanctions on Russia and companies under the direct control of the Kremlin.
As the ownership structure shows, Gazprom owns over 50 percent. shares in extraction from the deposit in its British part. BASF, LetterOne Holding, Neptune Energy Group and ONE-Dyas have even less control. According to experts’ calculations, the deposit will be exploited until 2032, when it will reach an economically ineffective level.
Gazprom operates in Europe despite sanctions
Despite sanctions imposed by almost the entire civilized West, Gazprom continues to profit from European business. In the Danish part of the field, Gazprom cooperates with the German concern Wintershall. The gas extracted by their joint venture is transported to the Netherlands, from where it goes to the European market.
According to financial data, Gazprom International UK, which – surprisingly – is not on the sanctions list, even though all its directors are listed there, earned EUR 45 million in 2022 and paid EUR 41 million in dividends to Gazprom International Projects BV registered in the Netherlands. The direct owner of the Dutch company is Gazprom’s headquarters in Russia. Gazprom is 80 percent controlled by the Russian State Treasury. The company is also the largest tax payer in Russia.
