Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.22
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Spanish Enagás and the Belgian company Fluxys, both shareholders of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), have closed the sale of their total stake in the Swedish TSO Swedegas to FS Gas Transport AB for an amount of 1,033 million Swedish Krona (SEK) each, around 100 million euros at the current exchange rate, said a message from Enagas.
The transaction, agreed last September, has been closed within the expected term after obtaining the approval of the Swedish competition authority.
The sale of Swedegas to First State, owner of part of the Swedish gas distribution network, represents for Enagás a return exceeding 10% in terms of IRR after tax.
The transaction is in line with the strategy announced by Enagás, which considers the possibility of rotation of some assets outside Spain, in order to undertake potential new investments.
Swedegas is the operator of the Swedish Gas System and owns Sweden’s entire high-pressure gas pipeline network. Since 2015 its shareholders had been Enagás and Fluxys, with a 50 percent share each.
Fluxys and Enagás hold 19 percent and 16 percent share in TAP AG consortium, respectively, which is involved in construction of TAP that envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe.
Other shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), and Axpo (5 percent).
TAP worth 4.5 billion euros is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.
TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).
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