SOCAR

Energy Minister Yiannis Maniatis in Tuesday announced state sell-off fund TAIPED’s proclamation of a tender for the creation of a natural gas storage facility at the South Kavala reserve in eastern Macedonia.

By Chryssa Liaggou

Azeri state energy giant Socar is contemplating the possibility that its deal to acquire a controlling stake in the Greek natural gas transmission network operator (DESFA) may fall through following the intervention of the European Commission this week.

Azeri state energy company SOCAR said it expected to close a deal to purchase Greek natural gas grid operator DESFA in early 2015, anticipating that it will clear an investigation by the European Commission.

SOCAR was the only bidder in a tender for DESFA last year, offering 400 million euros ($501 million) for a 66 percent stake.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set for his first international appearances after taking office on Aug. 28, including participation at the key NATO Summit and bilateral visits to Northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan.

 EC reluctant to recognize Socar as DESFA’s owner; Athens tries to force issue

The deal for Azeri natural gas company Socar to buy a controlling stake in Greece’s Natural Gas Transmission Network Operator (DESFA), which was agreed last year, is not near completion yet because of the European Commission’s reservations, diplomatic sources have told Kathimerini.

Azerbaijan’s government-run energy company has announced that private schools run by affiliates of the movement led by U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen have been closed down.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and visiting Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Monday discussed two major investments that promise to draw much-needed revenue – the privatization of Greece’s gas transmission network (DESFA) and the construction of the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), that would cross Greece.

Turkey has signed deals to increase its stakes in the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) and the Shah Deniz projects, with a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marking another step towards its long-lasting dream of becoming an energy hub.

Azeri state oil company SOCAR has signed a $3.29 billion financing deal with 23 banks and export credit agencies for the construction of a refinery on Turkey’s Aegean coast, SOCAR’s Turkish subsidiary Petkim said on May 30.