Norway Unhappy with Gazprom-OMV Asset Swap
Norway is not happy with the asset swap deal between Austria's OMV and Gazprom that would give the Russian gas giant access to the Norwegian continental shelf, the Nordic country's oil and energy minister told Reuters on Wednesday.
"We have said we are not happy for this deal because we want to have diversified supplies for gas to Europe," Terje Soeviknes said in an interview.
"And that is important for the Europeans to know that they have Norway as a stable producer. With Gazprom at the shelf, some people might question that."
Norway is Europe's second-largest gas supplier after Russia.
"We have told OMV that we are not happy for it. But we have said that, if there is an application, we will of course handle it," the minister said, adding that an application had not yet been submitted.
Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis
