Wintershall Dea says retaining Russian projects

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpFRANKFURT Reuters – Oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea on Thursday said it will hold on to its Russian projects after intensive discussions, arguing abandoning them would equip the Russian state with billions of euros worth of production assets.p

Wintershall Dea, a longterm partner to gas giant Gazprom, stopped new projects in Russia and stopped payments into Russia after Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

Chief Executive Mario Mehren said gas imports created a dilemma for the German government due to the countrys heavy reliance on Russia.

The imports could be replaced, “but not quickly,” he said on release of first quarter results.

Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Miranda Murrayp

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