Putin Orders Seizure of OMV and Wintershall DEA Stakes in Russian Projects

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the seizure of stakes valued at billions of dollars held by German company Wintershall DEA and Austrian oil and gas group OMV in gas extraction projects in the Arctic region of Russia. According to presidential decrees published late Tuesday, the stakes owned by the two companies in the Yuzhno-Russkoye field and Akimov projects will be transferred to newly established Russian companies. This marks the largest foreign asset seizure in Russia announced by the Kremlin, following what Putin described as the West’s declaration of an economic war against his country after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Hundreds of billions of dollars of Russian state assets have been frozen in the West, along with the assets of Russian businessmen and investors. Last year, Germany seized the large Schwedt oil refinery owned by Russia, which supplies Berlin with about 90 percent of its fuel. The presidential decrees stated that the move aims to protect national interests amidst illegal and unfriendly actions by the West toward Russian assets.