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He also pointed out, though, that narrowing the pool of potential suppliers would inevitably affect conditions on European gas markets. OMV has a duty to its customers, he remarked, explaining that “eliminating certain sources will also drive price rises.”
He added: “There is an obligation we have as an industrial company to ensure that we use those sources as long as they are legally acceptable.”
OMV supplies about 30% of all the gas consumed in Austria, and it is heavily dependent on Russian imports. However, it has had to secure other sources of supply since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, owing to the fact that Gazprom has been sending less gas to Europe and adhering less steadily to its regular delivery schedules.
Stern acknowledged that Gazprom had become less reliable, telling the FT that the share of Russian gas in OMV’s total
Poland seizes Russian oligarch Kantor's stake in Azoty
Wojciech Kosc in Warsaw, Vadim Dumesh
Poland has seized temporary control of Russian oligarch Vyacheslav Kantor's 19.82% stake in the Warsaw-listed chemicals group Azoty, Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda said on July 11.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has gone to some lengths to make sure Russia is not involved in important Polish companies. Azoty is the EU’s second-biggest producer of nitrogen and compound fertilisers, as well as products such as melamine and polyamide.
“There is no room for capital linked to Russian authorities in Poland,” Buda told a press conference.
Poland will now seek a partner to buy out the stake, after which it will pay compensation for the assets, the ministry said in
a statement. The compensation will however remain frozen in a bank or on a brokerage account, it said.
Poland had earlier made similar moves to remove Russia from Europol Gaz, the manager of the Polish section of the Yamal
gas imports had fluctuated between 20% and 70% from one month to another in 2022. Because of these developments, he said, the Austrian company has worked to secure contracts for pipeline capacity that is sufficient to meet all of its needs. It has also arranged to source gas from Norway and import LNG via terminals in the Netherlands, he said.
Additionally, he pointed to OMV’s decision to allocate €2bn for investment in Neptun Deep, a gas field offshore Romania in the Black Sea. The Austrian firm has set up a 50:50 joint venture with Romania’s Romgaz and hopes to bring the field on stream in 2027, and this development will make Neptun Deep’s reserves of about 100bn cubic metres available for consumption in Europe, he said.
“This will make Romania the biggest natural gas producers in the EU and OMV one of the biggest producers of gas
in Europe,” Stern told the FT. “I think that’s a significant contribution to the security of European supply.”
Azoty is the EU’s second-biggest producer of nitrogen and compound fertilisers, as well as products such as melamine and polyamide. / bne IntelliNews
pipeline, and Novatek Green Energy, a gas supplier.
Poland intervening to establish control over Russia-linked assets is symptomatic of the role Moscow played in Polish businesses and how that role became a major security risk after the Kremlin decided to attack Ukraine in February.
Azoty stocks were 3% up immediately following the announcement. The price dropped 0.7% later in the day.
In March 2022 following Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Vyacheslav Kantor was sanctioned by the EU, the UK, Switzerland and Ukraine. In the summer of 2022, Kantor transferred 45.1% of fertiliser major Acron shares to three top managers, formally ceasing to be the owner of
a controlling stake.
Previously sanctioned heads and shareholders of other Russian fertiliser majors have also dumped their controlling stakes. The EU’s fifth sanction package limited imports of Russian fertilisers.
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