In Germany, chemical giant BASF is threatened by the Russian gas crisis
A factory at the group's headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
dpa/AFP
Text by: Nathalie Versieux
2 mins
Germany is one of the biggest importers of Russian gas.
Industry consumes 30% of the gas burned in Germany.
In the southwest of Germany, in Ludwigshafen, the BASF turbines are still running at full speed.
The chemical giant, with an economic model based on cheap gas from Siberia, displays a certain serenity despite the threats.
Advertising
Read more
From our correspondent in Berlin,
BASF is one of those companies particularly affected by
the uncertainties surrounding Russian gas deliveries
.
The chemical giant represents 78 billion euros in turnover and 7.8 billion euros in profits last year.
But with the invasion of Ukraine, net profit fell 30% in the first quarter.
BASF is indeed totally dependent on Russian gas deliveries, as explained by Thierry Bros, energy expert, professor at Sciences-Po Paris.
"
It is a historical dependence since BASF founded a subsidiary in Germany with Gazprom and it is a subsidiary which was "win-win", that is to say that it had bought Russian gas at a high price for chemistry, since chemistry needs a lot of gas, and on the other hand, it helped Gazprom in complex technologies.
And the Germans have technology based on BASF products to try to extract this gas
,” he explains.
► Also to listen: Germany's dependence on Russian gas: "German policy is a failure"
With its 10 km2, the Ludwigshafen site, a veritable city within the city, consumed 37 TWH of gas last year.
It is a complex site.
The production units are all connected to each other by 2,850 km of overhead ducts.
To simplify, the residues of one unit are the raw material of the next.
Clearly, 50% less gas would force all production to be shut down.
The specter of shortages
For now, deliveries are continuing.
But at the end of May, Sinischa Horvat, the head of the works council of BASF, drew up a dramatic scenario.
“
If gas deliveries stop, certain types of chemical precursors would no longer enter the production chain, we are talking about chemical substances for medicines, food, automobiles, all of that would disappear.
This means that the final products would disappear and we are talking about many products
, ”he warns.
A nightmare vision for Germany.
Because beyond BASF, whole sections of the industry would be threatened.
In the event of a complete stoppage of Russian gas deliveries, the GDP would fall by 12.7%, 5.5 million employees would find themselves on the floor, according to a study just published by the Prognos institute.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Germany
Ukraine
Russia
Industry
Energies