BASF subsidiary profits from Germany’s Russian gas addiction

Global Witness reports that BASF's subsidiary, Wintershall Dea, continued extracting and transporting Russian gas in 2022 despite BASF's public commitment to wind down non-food businesses in Russia. The brief estimates that Russian gas transported by Wintershall across Germany in early 2022 was worth over €14 billion and that the subsidiary earned €400 million from Siberian fields between January and March 2022. It highlights BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller's lobbying to maintain these supplies to avoid economic crisis, while noting that Wintershall's partnership with Gazprom has increased Russia's leverage over Germany's energy security.

• Despite BASF announcing a wind-down of non-food businesses in Russia and Belarus by July 2022, its subsidiary Wintershall Dea continued drilling for fossil fuels in partnership with Gazprom, earning €400 million between January and March 2022.
• Global Witness estimates that Russian gas transported by Wintershall into and across Germany since the start of 2022 is worth over €14 billion, based on German government gas prices and a volume of over 28 BCM.
• Wintershall's operations in Russia are a significant source of income for BASF; in 2021, the subsidiary's adjusted net income from extracting Russian gas and oil (€547 million) and from Nord Stream and onshore pipes (€202 million) constituted nearly 80 percent of its total income.
• BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller has lobbied to maintain Russian gas flows, asserting that stopping the supply could trigger the most significant German economic crisis since the end of World War Two.
• Wintershall's long-term cooperation with Gazprom, including the production of 15 BCM of gas from Siberian fields in 2021 and a 15 percent ownership of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, has increased Russia's leverage over Germany's energy supply.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). BASF subsidiary profits from Germany’s Russian gas addiction. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/basf-subsidiary-profits-from-germanys-russian-gas-addiction/

Chicago

Global Witness. BASF subsidiary profits from Germany’s Russian gas addiction. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/basf-subsidiary-profits-from-germanys-russian-gas-addiction/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=BASF subsidiary profits from Germany’s Russian gas addiction |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/basf-subsidiary-profits-from-germanys-russian-gas-addiction/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitnessndbasf, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{BASF subsidiary profits from Germany’s Russian gas addiction}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/basf-subsidiary-profits-from-germanys-russian-gas-addiction/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }