Page 7 - bneMag April 2022 Russia living with sanctions

bne April 2022 Companies & Markets I 7
"It is a senseless act of aggression that must be condemned in the strongest possible terms, and we are doing all we can to support the brave Ukrainians impacted by the barbarism of Vladimir Putin’s regime," Komarek was quoted by itv.com as saying. "I took the decision many years ago to divest and exit from Russian assets with the exception of a shareholding in a gas terminal which we have been trying to exit for a number of years and a 50/50 joint-venture with Gazprom on an underground gas storage facility in the Czech Republic," he added.
In spring 2021, Gazprom further strengthened its links with MND when its local affiliate Vemex agreed to buy most of the gas produced by MND. MND, which is co-owned by E.ON Ruhrgas, KKGC, Slovakia´s Slovensky Plynarensky Priemysel
Bulgaria to complete gas link with Greece as it seeks to end dependence on Russian gas
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
Bulgaria expects to complete the gas link with Greece by the end of June, aiming to end its energy dependence on Russia, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on March 21.
The completion of the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector has been delayed for years by Sofia but Petkov's government is keen to complete it as soon as possible.
The €220mn gas link was supposed to be ready by the end of 2020 but was delayed at the time of the former government of Boyko Borissov due to administrative issues.
“At the end of June the Greece-Bulgaria link will become
a fact. As of September, Azeri gas can run through it,” Petkov said in a statement.
Bulgaria has a contract with Azerbaijan for the import of 1bn cubic metres of gas from Azerbaijan out of the 3bn cubic metres of its annual consumption.
The government intends not to renew its contract with Russian Gazprom in 2023. The current contract expires at the end
of 2022.
and Gaz de France, kept a few percent of the production it needed for its own operations.
Vemex supplies gas to 12 of the 35 largest Czech companies, including PKN's Ceska Rafinerska, Vitkovice Steel, brewer Plzensky Prazdroj and Pilsen Steel. For Gazprom, this is
a significant strengthening of its position on the market.
In addition to supplying gas to Vemex, it also supplies RWE Transgas, which is the dominant supplier of natural gas in the Czech Republic.
For the whole of 2020, MND reported a net profit of CZK64mn and sales of CZK45.7bn (up from CZK227mn a year earlier).
Ulaanbaatorians have got the hump with DBM.
The 180km gas link that has an annual capacity of 3bn cubic metres is being built by a joint venture of Bulgaria's state energy company BEH and Greece's gas utility DEPA and Italy's Edison (EDNn.MI).
Bulgaria has said that will not hold talks with Gazprom to renew its gas purchase deal and will be looking at alternative supplies. According to Ivan Topchijski, the chairman of the board of directors of state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz, the country could cover all its energy consumption needs without importing Russian gas once its current contract with Gazprom expires at the end of 2022.
Topchijski said that the authorities plan to purchase all available gas volumes under an agreement with Azerbaijan after June 30, including by using alternative networks in case that the completion of the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector is delayed again.
Bulgargaz also plans to import liquefied natural gas from several sources so that it can further diversify the energy supply. Bulgaria can use two liquefied gas terminals in Greece and five in Turkey.
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