MND increases its stake in Czech gas storage company; Gazprom previously held half

Moravské naftové doly (MND), owned by businessman Karel Komárek, has subscribed to newly issued shares in Moravia Gas Storage (MSG), which operates the Dambořice gas storage facility in Czechia. MND has thereby increased its stake in the company to 97.37 percent. Until now, the Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom held a 50 percent stake. MND spokeswoman Dana Dvořáková told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. Completion of the transaction is still subject to approval by regulatory authorities.

The subscription of new shares with a nominal value of CZK 36 million will also increase Moravia Gas Storage’s share capital to CZK 38 million. MND will newly hold a 97.37 percent stake in the company’s share capital and voting rights. MND provided additional capital to finance a technological investment needed to meet its obligations under contracts with customers reserving storage capacity, Dvořáková said.

The underground Dambořice gas storage facility was built by converting a depleted oil field that had been producing since 1986. Preparations for the storage project began in 2008, and MSG was established five years later as a joint venture between Gazprom Export and MND. Construction work on the facility began in May 2014, and it was commissioned in July 2016.

Russia’s Gazprom had leased most of the capacity under a 15-year contract from 2013. Other EU gas suppliers are currently using the facility’s capacity. The Russians stopped using the facility almost from the start of the war in Ukraine. According to MND, the facility is almost full at the start of the heating season. Its capacity is 448 million cubic metres, or about 12 percent of gas storage capacity in the Czech Republic.

MND Group is part of businessman Karel Komárek’s KKCG investment group. The company operates in various areas of the energy sector, from oil and gas production to energy generation from renewable sources, for example through geothermal wells or wind power. The company is also an energy supplier. In addition to the Czech Republic, MND Group operates in Germany and Ukraine.