Greece Launches Tender for State Gas Company DEPA, Attracts Turkish Companies

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Greece invited bids for ownership of state-owned gas company DEPA (Athens, Greece) and gas-grid operator DESFA (Athens), as the country moves ahead with a long-awaited privatization program, aimed at raising $25.5 billion by 2015.

According to an offer document published last Wednesday, the government is considering a "bundled" sale of DEPA combining its wholesale, trading and gas supply business as well as its DESFA networks and liquefied natural gas (LNG) arm, or an "unbundled" deal in which DESFA would be sold separately.

Greece wants to retain 34% of DEPA shares. The deadline for auction is March 22. The offer came a day after Environment Minister George Papaconstantinou met the president of Russia's natural gas export monopoly OAO Gazprom (PINK:OGZPY) (Moscow, Russia), Alexander Medvedev, to discuss energy policy and Greece's privatization program, according to a ministry statement. Gazprom has a joint venture with Greece's Copelouzous Group, named Prometheus Gas (Athens).

Sources close to companies said that Turkish natural gas company Botas (Ankara, Turkey) and The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) are interested in the privatization tender. SOCAR may get a local partner for a bid for DEPA and also make an offer for DESFA SA, Greece's gas transmission company, SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said in Istanbul on February 13. Earlier this year, Greek papers reported that Qatar Petroleum International showed interest in DEPA.

According to Greek media reports, 20 companies showed interest in privatization tenders. The interested companies includie Spain's Gas Natural Sdg SA (Madrid, Spain); France's GDF Suez (PINK:GDFZY) (Paris) and Electricite de France (EPA:EDF) (Paris); Austria's OMV AG (PINK:OMVKY) (Vienna) and Italy's Eni SpA (BIT:ENI) (Rome, Italy), Algeria's oil company Sonatrach (Algiers).

DEPA is active in the wholesale trading and supply of natural gas to large customers through parent company DEPA. Through DESFA, the DEPA Group owns and operates the regulated high-pressure gas transport network and LNG regasification facilities in Greece. It is also active in key international transit pipeline projects, such as the Greece-Italy Interconnector, the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector and the South Stream Pipeline.

The Greek government aims to raise $25.3 billion by 2015 with a long-awaited privatization program. Before the economic crisis hit the country, the government had projected $66.9 billion of revenue from privatization.

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