Europe Day: Wintershall Dea donates additional €2 million for Ukraine
- Funding for humanitarian aid and support for civil society and democracy in Ukraine
- Part of donation goes to European organisations
- Mehren: attack on European peace project
After more than two months, Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine is causing more and more devastation and suffering. In order to further support refugees and the people in Ukraine, Wintershall Dea is increasing its corporate donation by €2 million for humanitarian aid as well as for efforts to promote freedom, human rights and democracy. The additional donation shall, on the one hand, continue to directly benefit those in need of help from and in Ukraine. At the same time, in view of Europe Day (9 May), European NGOs working for civil society and for the promotion and preservation of human rights and democracy in Ukraine will also be supported. This will bring the total amount of Wintershall Dea’s donation to €3 million. The funds are being processed through the company's own non-profit organisation, the Wintershall Dea Foundation for Democracy and Diversity.
“Seventy-seven years after the end of the Second World War, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is also an attack on the European peace project. On this Europe Day, we are expressing our solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” says Wintershall Dea CEO Mario Mehren.
On 9 May, Europe Day is celebrated. The speech delivered by then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950 is regarded as the birth of the idea of political cooperation in Europe, which aimed to make war between the nations of Europe unthinkable. Five years earlier, the end of the Second World War had left behind a destroyed continent. The peoples of the former Soviet Union, among them millions of Ukrainians, played a decisive role in the defeat of National Socialism. Only thus was it possible to build Europe, and in particular the European Union, as a community of values based on respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
“Wintershall Dea is a European company with German roots. We are standing together for our European values. The war in Ukraine clearly proves that we need a united and strong Europe now more than ever. It is a matter that concerns us all,” Mario Mehren adds.
The company and its employees have already been actively involved in several initiatives to assist people from Ukraine who have been affected by the war. Wintershall Dea already made a €1 million donation in March. A portion of this went to the relief organisation action medeor to directly supply medical care to people in Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova. Together with its employees, the company also participated in a collection campaign for relief supplies for Ukraine and supports local initiatives helping refugees at its company sites in Kassel and Hamburg. Wintershall Dea employees worldwide have also made private donations. These donations from the workforce are being matched by the company.
Wintershall Dea has been active in Russia for 30 years. The war of aggression on Ukraine has marked a fundamental turning point for the company. In response, Wintershall Dea has decided not to pursue any additional projects in Russia and has stopped making payments to Russia. The company has written off around €1 billion in financing for the pipeline project Nord Stream 2. Wintershall Dea will continue to diversify its portfolio for Europe’s energy supply and to strengthen it outside Russia.
About Wintershall Dea
Wintershall Dea is Europe’s leading independent natural 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 13 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Russia, 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. 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. In addition Wintershall Dea will bring methane emissions intensity below 0.1 per cent by 2025 and maintain zero routine flaring of associated gas in its operations. The climate goals are to be achieved through portfolio optimization, emissions reduction through more energy efficiency, investments in nature-based compensation solutions and in future technologies such as hydrogen and CCS. 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 around 2,500 people worldwide from almost 60 nations.
