WINGAS UK Gets Green Light from EU Commission

WINGAS will now step up its operations in the UK as the sole owner of the former joint venture with Hydro

London/Brussels. The EU Commission has issued its approval for the European energy provider WINGAS, to take over full control of the joint venture company, HydroWingas. The Norwegian group, Norsk Hydro, had already sold its 50% equal terms share in the joint venture, HydroWingas, to WINGAS GmbH. With the EU Commission’s seal of approval, HydroWingas will immediately begin to trade in Britain under the new name of “WINGAS UK Limited”.

WINGAS GmbH (based in Kassel, Germany) is currently expanding its business activities across Europe, and with WINGAS UK the company will step up its operations on the British gas market. “Having taken over our partner’s interest share we are now very happy about being able to expand our marketing activities in the UK”, explains Dr. Rainer Seele, Chairman of the WINGAS Board of Management. “We intend to continuously extend our company’s market success to date and position ourselves even stronger than before as a competitive and service-oriented provider on the British gas market.”

With WINGAS UK as its new subsidiary, WINGAS is now focusing on both continuity and a profitable growth course. The previous management with Marten Turksema, Managing Director, and Dr. Peter Westhof, Deputy Managing Director, will continue the current work with the existing team. Following on the heels of an extremely successful fiscal year in 2006, in which sales rose by 50 percent to 1.2 billion cubic meters, the customer base is to be extended and profitability is to be increased in the current FY. WINGAS UK currently supplies more than 60 large-scale industrial customers at approx. 250 locations, with numerous contracts also in place with sub-distributors.

At the moment the UK is the biggest gas market in the European Union, with almost 37 percent of primary energy consumption covered by natural gas, which in 2006 came to some 107 billion cubic meters. Natural gas consumption in the UK breaks down as: 46 percent to private customers, 14 percent to industry and 30 percent to power plants. As production from British gas sources is continuously on the decrease, the UK will be become more dependent on gas imports in the future.

WINGAS UK plans to increase its concentration in this market area on supplying the industrial customer segment, and enhance its current flexibility in the process. Thanks to the benefits of experiences gained in trading, risk management, operations and sales in an extremely competition-oriented market, the customer now has a wide range of innovative products to choose from. Independent market observers credit WINGAS UK with a high level of service orientation, in addition to flexibility with products, pricing terms and contract conditions. The company is renowned for its after sales service and account management service, which are factors that are just as important as a competitive price.

You will find an overview of the Trade, Portfolio, Budget and Market Manager range of products, which are tailored to the various customer segments and requirements, at www.wingas-uk.com. The WINGAS UK homepage, updated in graphics and content, provides further information on the new 100% WINGAS GmbH subsidiary.

European energy provider WINGAS GmbH is active in natural gas trading and distribution in Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark. Its customers include municipal utilities, regional gas suppliers, industrial firms and power plants. Since 1990 WINGAS has invested more than 3 billion euros in the development of its own natural gas transport and storage infrastructure. WINGAS TRANSPORT pipeline network, which is over 2,000 kilometers long, connects the major gas reserves in Siberia and in the North Sea to the growing markets in Western Europe. In Rehden in North Germany, WINGAS has the largest natural gas storage facility in Western Europe - with a working gas volume of over four billion cubic meters, and the company also participates in Central Europe's second largest storage facility in Haidach, Austria. Additional natural gas storage facilities are currently being built in Great Britain and Germany in order to secure the supply of natural gas in Europe.

WINGAS. More energy – together.

2 July 2007 - PI-07-18

Contact:
Stefan Leunig
Phone +49 561 301-3301
Fax +49 561 301-1321
press@wingas.de

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Energy Efficiency

WINGAS UK name plate at office house in Richmond