According to The Times, E.ON is hoping to secure a 25% interest in the gas field, which will be the primary gas source for the Nord Stream pipeline that is currently being constructed by Gazprom, E.ON and BASF, and is anticipated to come online in 2010 to 2012.
It has been reported that E.ON originally offered the Russian giant various stakes in its Hungarian assets, but Gazprom thought that the gas field stake warranted the exchange of more significant property. According to Reuters, E.ON and Gazprom have been negotiating over the field for more than a year.
E.ON has a well-established position in the UK market through its Powergen unit which, according to Vedomosti, has a 10% share. As yet, Gazprom has failed to make an impact upon the market, although it has been connected to a potential acquisition of Centrica on several occasions.
According to The Times, both companies have declined to comment on the speculation. The publication commented that, if the deal was to proceed, it would reignite fears over the security of future energy supplies, an issue that may dissuade the UK government from backing the move.
Gazprom’s expansion plans are not limited to the UK, however as, in other news, Russian publication RIA Novosti has cited Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s first deputy prime minister and chairman of Gazprom’s board of directors, as saying that Gazprom could become the richest company in the world.
