Alerts. Real-time analysis of events occurring at the intersection of economics, finance and global security concerns.

In late 2013, Wingas and Gazprom signed a Master Agreement to swap assets, which made WINGAS a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom.  Not only does WINGAS control a large portion of Germany’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure, but also an extensive network of fiber optic cables that run along its pipelines, which now amount to some 7,000 km worth (with 3,000 km of that actually owned by WINGAS.  The network covers all of the major German cities and also works with regional providers in rural areas.  This control exposes Germany not only to pressures associated with its energy infrastructure, but also to significant strategic issues concerning its telecommunications infrastructure.