Σταθάκης στο Bloomberg:Πολύ κοντά σε συμφωνία για πώληση των ΕΛΠΕ

Δηλώσεις του Υπουργού Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας, Γιώργου Σταθάκη, επικαλείται σε σημερινό δημοσίευμά του το πρακτορείο Bloomberg. Μεταξύ άλλων ο Υπουργός υποστήριξε ότι είναι πλέον θέμα χρόνου η σταθερή τροφοδοσία της Ελλάδας και με φυσικό αέριο από τις ΗΠΑ. «Οι συζητήσεις έχουν ξεκινήσει αναφορικά με ποσότητες και τιμή, οπότε το αποτέλεσμα είναι ζήτημα μηνών», τόνισε χαρακτηριστικά. Σχετικά με τις μεγάλες ενεργειακές εταιρείες όπου υπάρχει συμμετοχή του Δημοσίου, ο Υπουργός ανέφερε:
• για τα ΕΛΠΕ, ότι «έχουν ολοκληρωθεί οι συζητήσεις με δυνητικούς αγοραστές σχετικά με την ΕΛΠΕ Upstream», προκειμένου το Δημόσιο να διατηρήσει πλειοψηφικό έλεγχο στη θυγατρική, ΕΛΠΕ Upstream, η οποία κατέχει τα δικαιώματα εκμετάλλευσης και παραχώρησης υδρογονανθράκων
• για τη ΔΕΠΑ, ότι μέχρι το τέλος Ιανουαρίου θα κατατεθεί στη Βουλή σχέδιο νόμου για τον διαχωρισμό της εταιρείας σε «ΔΕΠΑ Υποδομών» και «ΔΕΠΑ Εμπορίας», με το Δημόσιο να διατηρεί πλειοψηφικό πακέτο στην πρώτη
• για την πώληση των λιγνιτικών μονάδων της ΔΕΗ, ότι αναμένονται δεσμευτικές προτάσεις το αμέσως επόμενο διάστημα
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Greece Inches Closer to Sales of Hellenic Petroleum and Depa
by Paul Tugwell and Eleni Chrepa
Greece has crossed a key hurdle to the sale
of a controlling stake in Hellenic Petroleum SA as it rushes to
meet its privatization pledge after emerging from its third and
final bailout.
In an interview, Energy Minister George Stathakis said
Greece has reached an accord with potential buyers of the
Hellenic Petroleum stake -- valued at the current market price
at 1.16 billion euros ($1.33 billion) and seen as a flagship
privatization -- over the control of its wholly owned unit, Elpe
Upstream SA. Under the accord the state will own 50.1 percent of
Elpe Upstream, which holds Hellenic Petroleum’s hydrocarbon
exploration and concession rights.
“Talks with the potential buyers of the 50.1 percent stake
in Hellenic Petroleum over Elpe Upstream have finished and all
issues resolved,” Stathakis said in the interview in Athens.
The push to see the sale through comes after Greece in
August ended its final international bailout following its
decade-long financial crisis. Privatizations, a cornerstone of
the bailout program’s rebound plan, haven’t been popular with
the leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Once
famous for dragging its feet, the government is now interested
in “stepping up the privatization drive,” Grigoris Stergioulis,
chairman of Enterprise Greece, the nation’s trade and investment
promotion agency, said in August.
Assets in addition to Hellenic Petroleum being prepared for
sale include parts of Depa SA, Greece’s natural gas supplier,
and plants owned by Public Power Corp. SA, the country’s state-
controlled and largest electricity provider.
Binding Offers
Greece’s state-asset sale fund qualified in July two
investors for the controlling stake in Hellenic Petroleum --
Glencore Energy UK Ltd and Vitol Holding BV -- allowing them to
continue with the process. The stake is being sold by
Paneuropean Oil & Industrial Holdings SA and the Hellenic
Republic Asset Development Fund, the refiner’s first and second-
largest shareholders.
“While some details remain for the shareholders’ agreement,
we expect binding offers on Jan. 28,” Stathakis said. The two
companies have concluded their separate ventures for making
bids, he said.
On Depa, Greece is preparing a draft law to split the
natural gas supplier into two parts to pave the way for the sale
of the company, Stathakis said. The law to create Depa
Infrastructure and Depa Commercial, will be presented to
parliament by the end of January, he said.
U.S. Foray
Greece will sell the majority of Depa Commercial, retaining
a 15 percent stake. Depa Infrastructure will comprise the
country’s gas network and international projects, including
major investments in pipelines, and this part will remain under
state control. Greece will invite investors to show interest in
the sale during the first half. The state currently controls a
65 percent stake in Depa while Hellenic Petroleum owns the
remaining 35 percent.
Depa’s purchase in December of the first cargo from
Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Corpus Christi liquefied natural gas
export terminal, the newest such outlet in the U.S., opens the
way for the regular supply of U.S. LNG to Greece, the minister
said.
“Discussions have begun concerning amounts and price and
the outcome is a matter of months,” Stathakis said.
Meanwhile, Public Power has approved an agreement for
investors to buy its lignite coal-fired plants in Melitis and
Megalopolis, Stathakis said. The sale is part of an effort to
meet the demands of Greece’s creditors for the company to reduce
its dominance in the country’s electricity market.
Binding offers are due shortly, Stathakis said.