Reuters reported that RWE AG and Gazprom have terminated talks about joint power production ventures a setback in the German utility efforts to seek Russian-funded growth to help make up for its domestic market's exit from nuclear power.

Mr Juergen Grossmann RWE Chief Executive said in a statement that "Although our discussions were conducted in a very constructive manner we were unfortunately not able to agree on a framework for cooperation which would be sustainable for both parties."

RWE had an exclusivity deal with Gazprom. Sources close to the matter said that the cooperation partly fell through because Gazprom struck a deal with Danish utility Dong earlier this year to explore opportunities for promoting gas-fired power generation in Europe.

One source at Gazprom said "There seems to be a view of first-come-first-serve here, and differing price expectations (for gas supplies) also did their part in derailing the deal."

In Moscow, Gazprom CEO Mr Alexei Miller did not rule out further talks with RWE but said the Russian gas export monopoly was looking at other power generation opportunities in Germany. He said "We can continue talks, but there is no more exclusivity."

(Sourced from Reuters)