“The contract
satisfies both Greece and Gazprom. It provides for annual gas supplies
of about two billion cubic metres from 2016,” Georgios Chelikidis, the
General Manager of Prometheus Gas S.A. says...
ATHENS, June 05./ITAR-TASS/. Greece will buy Russian gas at a price of
$396 US dollars per 1,000 cubic metres, Georgios Chelikidis, the General
Manager of Prometheus Gas S.A., a Greek-Russian joint venture with
participation of Russia’s Gazprom Export, told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.
Russian investors are pursuing deals to help cash-strapped Greece
privatize its economy and pay off its huge debt. Russian Railways RZD
may take a 100 percent state in Greek’s TRAINOSE, and Gazprom has
renewed talks with state-owned gas company DEPA.
Valentina Matviyenko, the Speaker of the upper house of Russia's
Parliament has expressed her government's vested interest in the
Greek economy. She's traveling with a group of Russian investors
looking to to get a slice of Greece's privatization.
"Our position is that would not be an acquisition of assets,
but rather a support for friendly Greece at the complicated
economic stage," Matvienko said.
Gazprom officials are in Athens for talks on acquiring Greece's
public gas distributor DEPA. Gazprom is already DEPA’s major supplier
and there are concerns the EU could block the deal in an attempt to
limit Russia’s presence in its energy market.
According to local media reports, Gazprom head, Aleksey Miller
himself is taking part in the negotiations.
Gazprom is trying to negotiate favorable terms for the deal,
stressing its sole major bidder position in the privatizing process
of DEPA, Reuters reports. These are the third round of negotiations
since March 2013, and this time Gazprom wants to achieve guarantees
from DEPA creditors to clear its debt of €380 million before taking
over the company.
Gazprom also wants to postpone the payment of a bid guarantee of
20% of the deal's value until the European Union approves the
acquisition of DEPA by the Russian firm.
Gazprom is DEPA’s main gas supplier, which has raised concerns
the EU might block or impose stern conditions on the deal, as it’s
trying to loosen Russia’s grip on EU energy market.
