FSUOGM: Uniper hit hard by Russian gas losses

Uniper has posted a €40bn ($39bn) loss for the first nine months of this year, marking one of the biggest losses in German corporate history. The reasons are well-known. The company had its Russian gas supply drastically cut over the summer, before it ended completely at the end of August.

Russia’s Gazprom began curtailing supply to Uniper in mid-June, when it reduced capacity flow via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, claiming technical difficulties caused by Western sanctions. The pipeline was completely closed at the end of August, and following suspected sabotage in late September, the pipeline is unlikely to come back online this winter.

Uniper had to continue supplying gas to its customers. But without contractual Russian deliveries, the company was forced to buy that gas on the spot market, where prices have soared over the past year to heights not previously thought possible.

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please click here for NewsBase’s FSU Oil and Gas Monitor.