Russ Oil-Gas

MOSCOW, June 11 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom will extend its gas supply contract by 35 years with Germany's Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus GmbH (WIEH), trading in natural gas in a number of European countries, the Russian energy giant said Wednesday. A Gazprom delegation led by CEO Alexei Miller in Germany took part Wednesday in festivities devoted to the 35th anniversary of natural gas deliveries from Russia to Germany. The contract is the biggest in the history of the Russian-German energy partnership. Its extension will provide WIEH with over 500 billion cu m of gas from Russia overall. "Europe was and remains our key market; Germany is not only the largest consumer of Russia's natural gas among European countries, but also a time-tested partner... I am convinced that our cooperation will strengthen, including thanks to the Nord Stream joint project," Miller said. The Nord Stream pipeline, which Gazprom is building together with Germany's E.ON under the Baltic Sea at an estimated cost of $12 billion, will pump Russian natural gas directly to Germany. Wintershall Holding AG is a 100% subsidiary of BASF. Gazprom and Wintershall have cooperated for over 15 years and the companies have established the Wingas and WIEH joint ventures. BASF is also a partner of Gazprom in exploration of northwest Siberia's Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas deposit and in construction of the Nord Stream pipeline. Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus GmbH (WIEH) was founded in 1990. It is responsible for the purchase, transportation, storage and sale of natural gas in different European countries. Wingas GmbH, formed in 1993 as a strategic alliance between Gazprom and Wintershall, supplies oil and gas to clients in Germany, Belgium, France, the U.K., Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark. Wingas clients include urban and regional gas companies, industrial enterprises and electric power plants. In line with an asset swap agreement between Gazprom and BASF, Gazprom raised its share in Wingas GmbH authorized capital late last year to 50% minus one share.