Report: Fridman’s LetterOne to work in North Sea despite ban

MOSCOW, Dec 22 (PRIME) -- A joint venture, which will potentially appear after subsidiaries of Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman’s LetterOne and German BASF merge, will be allowed to develop the U.K.-based Wingate gas field, although in 2015 the state prohibited Fridman’s companies to work in the North Sea, the Financial Times reported late on Thursday.

In 2015, the U.K. government ordered LetterOne to sell off all assets of DEA, a joint venture with German RWE, on concerns of new sanctions against Russia. The order was fulfilled by selling the assets to petrochemical company Ineos.

“U.K. concerns about Fridman in 2015 had proved unfounded because no sanctions had since been imposed against him or his companies,” the newspaper reported citing anonymous sources.

“It would be irrational for the government to object to LetterOne indirectly owning part of Wingate when Gazprom, the state-owned Russian gas producer, already has a large stake in the field.”

Earlier in December, BASF and LetterOne signed a protocol of intention to merge their subsidiaries Wintershall and DEA into Wintershall DEA joint venture. The deal is to be closed in July-December 2018.

The company will be involved in development of the Wingate gas field located 117 kilometers off the U.K. coast with potential production of 1.11 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Gazprom holds 20% in the field.

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