Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Greek state privatization fund TAIPED's governing board approved the Azerbijani state energy company's revised offer for 66 percent of natural gas transmission network operator DESFA.

TAIPED will collect 188 million euros for its 31% share, while Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) will receive 212 million euros for its 35% share. ELPE's board of directors will convent tomorrow to discuss SOCAR's offer. The state will hold on to the other 34 percent to retain its status as a minority stakeholder.

The contract will be transferred to the State Audit Council after ELPE has also approved of the 400-million-euro bid. The State Audit Council can be expected to issue its own approval in about a month.

The DESFA revenues will bring TAIPED's takings this year to more than 1 billion euros, including the OPAP and state lotteries projects.

DESFA is a division of the Greek state gas company DEPA, whose privatization failed in June due to the lack of formal bids including from Russian giant Gazprom, which had been considered the most likely buyer of DEPA.

Purchase of equity interest in DESFA will allow SOCAR to participate in various investment projects in the Balkan countries and, in particular, to be involved in the process of gas supply in Albania, which is currently at a very low level.

SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in the domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan. Three production divisions, two oil refineries and one gas refinery, an oil tanker fleet, a deep water platform fabrication yard, two trusts, one institution, and 22 subdivisions are operating as corporate entities under SOCAR.

The company owns gas stations in Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Georgia and Ukraine. It has representative offices in Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Austria, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Britain, Iran, Germany and Ukraine and trading companies in Switzerland, Singapore, Vietnam, Nigeria and other countries.