Stating boldly that "Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine is incompatible with our values and has destroyed cooperation between Russia and Europe," CEO Mario Mehren of Wintershall Dea announced on Tuesday of this week the complete withdrawal of the company's business in Russia, causing a $8 billion loss at parent company BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Wintershall Dea's decision also means the end of its participation in Nord Stream gas transportation in the Baltic Sea, of which it had a 15.5 percent stake.

Mehren said limitations the Russian government imposed on local assets owned by Western companies had made it impossible to operate properly "and resulted in an economic expropriation of the joint ventures in Russia".

BASF, which said the Nord Stream stake had been fully written down, flagged a 1.38 billion euro net loss for 2022, according to preliminary results also published on Tuesday, compared with a 5.52 billion profit in 2021.

BASF's earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) likely declined by 15% in 2022 to 6.55 billion euros, also below the 6.84 billion analyst forecast.

Sales for the past year were up 11% at 87.32 billion euros, BASF, which is scheduled to release its annual 2022 results on Feb. 24, citing higher prices and currency effects.