Wintershall to name new Argentina managing director following DEA merger

A new managing director of Wintershall’s Argentinian entity will be named after the closing of the merger between Wintershall and compatriot DEA.

German company Wintershall said on Monday that Gustavo Albrecht, managing director of the company’s Argentinian subsidiary Wintershall Energía for the last nine years, would be leaving the company on February 28.

Albrecht will be retiring from the company following 29 years of service in Wintershall.

According to the firm, Mariano Cancelo, the head of joint ventures and Austral assets at Wintershall Energía, will temporarily take over the management of the business.

Cancelo has held various positions at Wintershall Holding and Wintershall Energía over the last 23 years. This provisional situation applies from March 1, 2019.

Wintershall added that a new managing director in Argentina would be appointed after the closing of the upcoming merger between Wintershall and DEA Deutsche Erdöl AG.

The transaction is expected to be closed in the first half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals.

To remind, BASF and LetterOne signed a definitive transaction agreement back in September 2018 to merge their respective oil and gas businesses in a joint venture which would operate under the name Wintershall DEA.

Following the closure of the merger, Wintershall DEA plans to increase production by 40% by early 2020s and reduce staff by a total of 1,000 jobs in Germany and Norway.

Wintershall has been involved in Argentina for over 40 years. Wintershall Energía currently has interests in a total of 15 oil and gas fields and produces around 26 million barrels of oil equivalent. Activities are focused on the provinces of Neuquén and Mendoza and in the south off the coast of Tierra del Fuego.