Gazprom: Ursula von der Leyen urges against paying in Rubles
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Now called SEFE Energy, Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail had been scrambling to sever links with Moscow following the launch of the invasion of Ukraine back in February. And while Putin’s troops have been unleashing havoc in Ukraine, Russia’s Gazprom is state-owned and has been conducting major gas cuts in Europe, sparking staggering gas price rises and sending the energy crisis out of control.
Now, the British arm of the company appears to be doing all it can to distance itself from Russia – although it has actually been owned by the German Government since April.
This came after the energy conglomerate parted ways its German subsidiary and the trading arm in the UK.
Now, the UK arm is creating even more distance from the Gazprom brand, which it claims “demonstrates” its “goal to play a long-term role in the market”.
SEFE Energy stated in a blog post: “Our company name, previously Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail Limited, has changed to SEFE Energy Limited and our London-based parent company is now SEFE Marketing & Trading Limited.
“The SEFE name shows how our group of companies is being repositioned and illustrates the new role of the SEFE Group in securing energy supply in Europe. The renaming further demonstrates SEFE Group’s goal to play a long-term role in the market.
“The impact on SEFE Energy’s customers, vendors, suppliers and partners is minimal to none.”
It comes after the Manchester-based energy arm had been scrambling to stay afloat in March after a frenzy of sanctions on Russian industry were slapped down by the West.
While the UK business avoided specific sanctions, a number of clients left the business and shied away from new contracts with the supplier.
Back in May, it first emerged that the UK arm was eyeing the rebrand as Putin’s war continued to rage on.
It reportedly intended on changing its name to that of its parent company, GM&T, which is operationally independent of Gazprom.
A source close to the Moscow-controlled company told The Financial Times:: “The top management is keen but the trouble is that it’s not a radical rebrand so it’s unclear whether it will make much difference,”
This also comes as Gazprom announced drastic gas supply cuts to Europe last month, blaming this on maintenance and repair work on pipeline infrastructure, delayed by sanctions.
Now, gas flowing through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is travelling at just 20 percent of its usual capacity.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of waging a “gas war” as a result.
It sparked panic in Europe and prompted EU Governments to devise a plan for a 15 percent gas savings target ahead of another feared cut over winter.
Now, the bloc is planning to build up its storage ahead of the winter to avoid a full-blown crisis when demand is higher in the colder months.
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