Gazprom stake in Dutch energy: risk or benefit?

RNW, 20 July 2011, by Michael Blass

(Flickr/FaceMePLS)

  

Russian energy giant Gazprom is in talks about collaboration with German energy company RWE. And RWE owns Dutch energy company Essent. “Is Dutch legislation Gazprom-proof?” wonders Christian Democrat MP Marieke van der Werf.

Is Essent in danger of falling into the clutches of a Russian state company? Ms Van der Werf raised concerns about the deal with Economic Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen.

“What I’m slightly uneasy about is that a company in which the Russian government has proved to have a considerable finger in the pie should have a say in a Dutch company,” she says.

Dark side

Privatisation has brought a lot of benefits to the Dutch energy market, says Ms Van der Werf. Consumers can now take their pick of energy suppliers battling to beat each other’s prices. And cooperation with foreign companies has brought scale benefits and fresh investment.

But there’s also a potential dark side to the globalising energy market, she says. “If Gazprom gains control over these companies, it’s possible that they could come under Russian state influence.”

Essent stresses that Gazprom is merely gaining a financial interest in Dutch power stations, not a controlling influence. And it hastens to add that the Netherlands’ only nuclear power plant, Borssele, has nothing to do with the deal.

No problem

Energy expert Aad Correljé of the Clingendael International Energy Programme doesn’t share Ms Van der Werf’s fears of Russian state control.

“It’s not the fact that the Russians will determine whether or not the Essent plants will be used to generate electricity or not,” he says. “And a stronger argument is that those plants are in the Netherlands and can’t be removed or cut off. And there’s alternative gas available. So I can’t really see it as a problem.”

Benefit

Gazprom won’t really be gaining any influence in the Dutch energy market, he says. “I think it would rather be the other way round. Gazprom taking over the assets of Essent creates a client for its own gas here in the Netherlands. And that of course would bring more gas to the Netherlands. In that sense it’s a better embedment of the Netherlands in the European gas network.”

So the Gazprom deal could actually be seen as a benefit, he believes. It suits Dutch ambitions to become a European energy hub. What’s more, if Gazprom has an interest in Dutch power plants, Mr Correljé points out, it’s hardly likely to start turning off the gas taps. And the Netherlands has its own gas to fall back on anyway.

Gazprom is motivated by concerns that Brussels is trying make the EU less dependent on Russian gas, Mr Correljé says. So by investing in European clients like RWE and Essent, the company is securing its European market.

Unfair competition

Marieke van der Werf is concerned that while EU companies are bound by strict rules on matters like sustainability or the split between energy supply and grid management, Gasprom doesn't have such worries.

“In short, Gasprom has a different way of making profit,” she says. “If that money is invested in Dutch companies, isn’t there a question of unfair competition? Because you have to compete with companies that do have to comply with European regulations.”

Common interest

Aad Correljé doesn’t see the problem. “In the European Union, Gazprom like any other company will have to comply with European rules and the Dutch interpretation of them.”

In the end, he says, Europe has to accept its dependence on Russian gas. So rather than get into rivalries and political clashes with Russia, it’s better to strike deals that create a common interest with the Russian energy giant.

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