Wintershall Dea has decided to terminate all its operations in Brazil and to close the current office in Rio de Janeiro after the execution of all required measures. The termination of its operations in the country will be made in accordance with all contractual and legal regulations.

"This decision is the result of a very thorough analysis of our global portfolio and evaluation of individual projects and how they fit with our long-term strategy," Thilo Wieland, Member of the Wintershall Dea Board, responsible for the regions Russia, Latin America and Transportation, explains. The focus of Wintershall Dea's global production is on natural gas, which currently accounts for around 70 per cent of its portfolio. In addition, the company will continue to use its long-standing expertise to produce oil in the most efficient and responsible way, focusing on selected regions and projects that are in line with its ambitious climate targets.

In Brazil, Wintershall Dea holds to date participating interests in a total of nine exploration licenses, spread over Potiguar, Ceará, Campos and Santos basins, which were awarded to the company in bidding rounds in 2018 and 2019. The company, as provided for in the respective concession contracts, has no remaining minimum work commitments in the licenses or other material financial obligations.

"We greatly appreciate the good relationships we have built over the years with our business partners and the authorities in Brazil and will work constructively with them to ensure a smooth transition," says Wieland.

About Wintershall Dea

Wintershall Dea is Europe’s leading independent natural gas and oil company with more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 13 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Russia, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business. More in our Annual Report.

As a European gas and oil company, we support the EU's 2050 carbon neutrality target. As our contribution we have set ourselves ambitious targets: We want to be net zero across our entire upstream operations – both operated and non-operated – by 2030. This includes Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions on an equity share basis. In addition, Wintershall Dea will bring methane emissions intensity below 0.1 per cent by 2025 and maintain zero routine flaring of associated gas in its operations. The climate goals are to be achieved through portfolio optimization, emissions reduction through more energy efficiency, investments in nature-based compensation solutions and in future technologies such as hydrogen and CCS. You can find more about this in our Sustainability Report.

Wintershall Dea was formed from the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, in 2019. Today, the company employs around 2,500 people worldwide from over 60 nations.