Officials from the EU Commission and the Federal Cartel Office have searched German Gazprom subsidiaries. The Brussels Authority announced on Thursday, there have been “unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies in Germany” that offer natural gas supply and storage and operate pipelines. There is a suspicion that the companies are exploiting their dominant position, it said. Names were not mentioned, but according to reports it is about Gazprom. The visits took place on Tuesday.
Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, who is responsible for competition, said in January that the behavior of the Russian company gave her food for thought. Demand for gas is increasing, but Gazprom is limiting its supply: “It’s pretty rare behavior on markets.” The Danish Liberal added that her authority had sent questionnaires to a number of energy suppliers. “We received many answers, but we are still waiting for others, including Gazprom.” She was “excited” to hear the group’s information. A Gazprom spokesman said at the time that his company had sent some of the requested data.
While Gazprom is fulfilling its long-term supply commitments, it has hardly delivered any additional gas to Europe, even though prices have been rising sharply for a year. It would actually be lucrative for a producer like Gazprom to pump more gas into the EU and sell it there. The fact that this did not happen arouses the suspicion of the competition watchdogs in the Brussels Commission. They can impose penalties of up to 10 percent of global sales.
Does the group have to sell its storage?
The authority started investigations against Gazprom back in 2011 because the company is said to have abused its dominant position in Eastern Europe. Seven years later Vestager and the group agreed to be discontinued; However, Gazprom had to accept certain rules of conduct.
The company faces further trouble at the end of the year: A bill The EU Commission is demanding that national supervisory authorities examine in future whether operators of natural gas storage facilities pose a risk to security of supply. Gazprom owns several storage facilities in the EU, including the largest in Western Europe in Rehden, Lower Saxony. The group’s underground warehouses were noticeably understocked at the beginning of the heating season, fueling accusations that the group was no longer trustworthy. The Commission hopes that the law will come into force by late summer. After that, the supervisors would have a good three months to inspect and certify the operators of the most important warehouses. If the license is refused, the company has to relinquish control of the warehouse.