Wintershall Dea sells WIGA stake to SEFE
- SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH to become sole shareholder of WIGA Group
- WIGA Group’s pipeline network plays a key role in the German and European energy security and future transportation of hydrogen
- Closing is targeted for summer 2024
Kassel/Berlin. Wintershall Dea AG entered into an agreement for the sale of its 50.02 per cent stake in WIGA Transport Beteiligungs-GmbH & Co. KG and WIGA Verwaltungs-GmbH (together WIGA) to Berlin-headquartered company SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE). SEFE currently holds a 49.98 per cent stake in WIGA and, upon closing of the transaction, will become the company’s sole shareholder. To make this possible, the German Federal Government had notified an amendment of the original approval decisions for the recapitalisation of SEFE with a view to the applicable acquisition ban. The relevant state aid approval was adopted today. The transaction is still subject to merger and subsidy control approval by the European Commission and is expected to be completed in summer 2024.
WIGA is the sole shareholder of German regulated gas transmission system operators GASCADE Gastransport GmbH and NEL Gastransport GmbH. These two independent subsidiaries of WIGA operate onshore gas transmission networks in Germany with a combined length of around 4,150 kilometres and a direct connection to five European countries. With its high-capacity gas transportation infrastructure, WIGA plays a key role in ensuring Europe’s energy security.
Additionally, with its ambitious hydrogen strategy, WIGA Group aims to play a leading role in the German and European energy transition and in the development of the German core hydrogen network.
About Wintershall Dea
Wintershall Dea is a leading independent European gas and oil company with more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 11 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business. And we develop carbon management and low carbon hydrogen projects to contribute to climate goals and secure energy supplies. More in our Annual Report.
As a European gas and oil company, we support the EU's 2050 carbon neutrality target. As our contribution we have set ourselves ambitious targets: We want to be net zero across our entire upstream operations – both operated and non-operated – by 2030. This includes Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions on an equity share basis. Wintershall Dea will also bring its methane emissions intensity below 0.1 per cent by 2025. We endorsed the World Bank’s Initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ and continue to support the initiative aimed at eliminating routine flaring in operated assets by 2030. In addition, we plan to support global decarbonisation efforts by building up a carbon management and hydrogen business to potentially abate 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per annum by 2040. You can find more about this in our Sustainability Report.
Wintershall Dea was formed from the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, in 2019. Today, the company employs more than 2,000 people worldwide from almost 60 nations.
The shareholders of Wintershall Dea (BASF and LetterOne) and Harbour Energy plc (Harbour) signed a business combination agreement in December 2023 to transfer Wintershall Dea’s E&P business consisting of its producing and development assets as well as exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn) as well as Wintershall Dea’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) licenses to Harbour. Until closing, Wintershall Dea and Harbour will continue to operate as independent companies. The transaction is, among other things, subject to approvals of merger control and foreign investment authorities in several countries. Subject to these regulatory approvals, closing is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2024. See the full BASF release here.
