KASSEL (dpa-AFX) - The chairman of the board of the oil and gas group Wintershall Dea, Mario Mehren, has warned against complacency with regard to the supply situation next winter. "We should not feel too secure," Mehren said Thursday in Kassel at the presentation of the company's financial results for the second quarter of 2023, adding that while commodity prices had fallen significantly, the outlook remained volatile and supply risks persisted worldwide. The company said it is facing increasing hurdles in its withdrawal from Russia.

"We in Germany and Europe should not be complacent just because we made it through last winter - a mild winter," Mehren said. To that end, he said, Europe, on the one hand, has been buying up supplies at high prices, sometimes at the expense of other economies. "There were blackouts, just not in Europe," Mehren said, calling for access to affordable supplies for all economies. Second, he said, people got through the winter because of the partial collapse in industrial demand. "Deindustrializing Europe cannot be the approach to achieve our energy goals," Mehren stressed.

There are still some European countries that receive a significant amount of Russian gas, he said. If this gas stopped arriving there, at the very least prices would rise again. To deal with this situation, he said, it is important to continue working on investments in gas and oil projects, as well as in energy infrastructure. Underinvestment in these areas has left us vulnerable, Mehren said. What is needed, he said, is a stable framework and recognition of the importance of security of supply in Germany, Europe and around the world. "People outside Europe also deserve secure, affordable and sustainable access to energy."

Wintershall Dea felt the impact of lower oil and gas prices in the second quarter. In the three months to the end of June, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and exploration costs (Ebitdax) fell by almost a quarter year-on-year to 975 million euros. Wintershall Dea was able to slightly increase the volume of receivables.

The figures no longer include the Russian business because Wintershall Dea intends to withdraw from the country. The bottom line was an adjusted profit of 203 million euros, compared with 156 million euros a year earlier. The company reduced its annual target for the receivables volume. For 2023, Wintershall Dea is now targeting production of 325,000 to 340,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The group's withdrawal from Russia is progressing, but is not an easy process, Mehren said. The economic and political environment is unpredictable and difficult in every respect, he said. The Russian government is creating new strategic and bureaucratic obstacles every day for companies wanting to leave the country. These range from approval processes and valuation requirements to veto rights the Russian government is considering for the sale of strategic assets.

Against the backdrop of the difficulties, Wintershall Dea was implementing a complete legal separation of its business outside Russia and the investments it still had in Russia, he said. Mehren emphasized, "We are leaving Russia. This chapter of our history is closed."

Wintershall Dea emerged in 2019 from the merger of Wintershall Holding and Dea. The company, headquartered in Kassel and Hamburg, employs nearly 2,500 people worldwide. BASF holds a good 70 percent of Wintershall Dea. The rest is owned by LetterOne, an investment company./nis/DP/mne