The British arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom could be placed under administration in the coming days, the BBC has said.
Bloomberg reported the government was preparing to step in and temporarily run Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail Ltd, which supplies thousands of organizations across the UK.
His customers include McDonalds, Siemens, hospitals and municipalities.
The government is understood to be evaluating all options and closely monitoring the situation.
One option would be to put the company under special administration, where it is temporarily managed on behalf of the government.
Last November, UK energy company Bulb was placed under special administration, with £1.7 billion in government funds allocated to keep it running.
The company’s UK retail operation does not sell gas from its parent company in Russia, but a number of companies and local authorities are believed to be trying to end their contracts with the company in protest at the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Gazprom itself was also sanctioned by the British government.
- British councils seek exit from Gazprom deals
- More and more companies are withdrawing from Russia
- Shell wants to sell Russian investments because of conflict in Ukraine
Earlier this month, a number of councils in England told the BBC that they wanted to end their Gazprom contracts as soon as possible.
Public sector contracts in the UK totaled £107m between 2016 and 2021, according to public services data company Tussell
Health Secretary Sajid Javid also urged NHS trusts to stop using Gazprom-supplied energy.
Gazprom and the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Industrial Strategy have been asked to comment.
A McDonald’s spokesman said it was trying to end its deal “as soon as possible,” while Siemens UK said it was reviewing terms of terminating supply contracts with Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail.
“We support the strict and far-reaching sanctions imposed by Western governments and ensure that we act in accordance with them,” it said.
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