Wintershall, the energy division of the chemical company BASF AG, said on Friday, March 23, that it would invest more than €3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) over the next three years, most of it earmarked for its joint venture deals with Gazprom, the state-owned Russian gas giant.

Reinier Zwitserloot, chairman of Wintershall told International Herald Tribune that €1.9 billion, or $2.5 billion, would be invested in Nord Stream Baltic, where it is involved in a joint venture with Gazprom and another German company, E.ON Ruhrgas.

This project, which involves building a pipeline under the Baltic Sea, would allow Russia to send some of its natural gas exports directly to Germany, bypassing transit routes through Ukraine and Poland.

Zwitserloot also said more than €800 million would be invested in the Achimgaz company and the Yuzhno Russkoye fields, where Wintershall and Gazprom have created joint ventures for natural gas exploration and production in Western Siberia.

A further €800 million would be spent on projects in North Africa, particularly Libya, which would be independent of Gazprom.

Wintershall, which entered the German natural gas market in the early 1990s to break the monopoly held by Ruhrgas, buys most of its supply from Russia.

Despite concerns that President Vladimir Putin of Russia has used energy as a political instrument against some of its neighbors, Zwitserloot strongly defended Gazprom, calling it a reliable partner which Europe needed.

“There can be no supply without Russia,” he said. “Of course, one can criticize Russia. But we should not measure it with a different yardstick than we use for other suppliers. One thing is clear. Those who fear energy dependency on Russia should not look to Iran of all places.”

Europe buys a quarter of its natural gas from Russia. Germany buys more than 35 percent from Russia.

Zwitserloot said the dependency was not one-way.

“Russia also delivers more than 60 percent of its exported natural gas in one direction. And in Europe, Germany is Russia’s most important trading partner. Unfortunately, this is all too often forgotten,” he said.

When asked if he had any concerns about the Russian authorities’ own record of property rights when it recently reduced the stakes held by foreign companies, including Shell, in companies in Russia, Zwitserloot said that Wintershall always had an excellent relationship with Russia.

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