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“Total collapse”: the largest German chemical group warns about what will happen in the event of a Russian gas cut

BASF is the real German chemical giant, with plants as large as cities and a worldwide turnover of 59 billion dollars. The CEO of the company, Martin Brudermuller, released in an interview with the newspaper F rankfurter Allgemeine right at the turn of Putin's decision to request payments in Rubles from hostile countries, a choice that has cast some doubts on the supply of natural gas to the West. From his words we understand how far the Politics of the Smargiassi, of the Ganassas, is far from the reality of the facts of the economy and industry, in Germany and in Italy.

Brudermuller was very clear on what the dry cut of Russian supplies entails: " it is not enough to turn down all the heating by 2 degrees now " given that " Russia covers 55 per cent of German natural gas consumption ". He stressed that if Russian gas disappeared overnight , “a lot of things would collapse here” – as “we would have high levels of unemployment and many companies would go bankrupt. This would lead to irreversible damage ”.

To put it bluntly: this would cause the worst crisis for the German economy since the end of World War II and destroy our prosperity. For many small and medium-sized businesses in particular, it could mean the end. We can't risk it! "

Finally, he gave a good warning to politics and, in general, to the population " We are on the verge of the crisis, if this stalemate continues it will open the eyes of many on both sides ".

An arrest in delivery for a short time would perhaps open the eyes of many, on both sides. It would make clear the extent of the consequences. But if we don't get Russian gas for a long time, then we really have a problem here in Germany. At BASF, we would have to reduce or completely shut down production at our largest site in Ludwigshafen if supply significantly and permanently drops below 50 percent of our maximum natural gas requirement. Minister Habeck has already activated the first alert level of the gas emergency plan . "

It is estimated that 40,000 workers would lose their jobs in Ludwigshafen alone.

The CEO also strongly criticized the misconception that politics and public opinion have of the energy problem

“Many have misconceptions, I notice this in many of my conversations. People often make no connection between a boycott and their work. As if our economy and our prosperity were set in stone “.

He explained that the higher prices are already having a huge impact on the food supply as BASF was forced to reduce ammonia production for fertilizer production at this point.

Brudermuller called it “ a catastrophe and we will hear it even more clearly next year than this one. Because most of the fertilizers farmers need this year have already been bought. In 2023, however, there will be a shortage, and then poor countries in particular, for example in Africa, will no longer be able to afford to buy basic food ”. " There is a risk of famine ".


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The article "Total collapse": the largest German chemical group warns about what will happen in the event of a Russian gas cut comes from ScenariEconomici.it .


This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/collasso-totale-il-maggior-gruppo-chimico-tedesco-avverte-su-cosa-succedera-nel-caso-di-taglio-del-gas-russo/ on Fri, 01 Apr 2022 07:00:05 +0000.