Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
German energy company EWE AG, which has recently sold its Turkish assets to Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR, will focus more on Germany, the company told Trend.
“EWE is planning to invest in fiber optic and renewables. The focus area is Germany,” said the company.
As for the possibility of entering Central Asian market after withdrawing from Turkey, the company said as of today EWE does not intend to enter the Central Asian energy or telecommunication markets.
Returning to the deal with SOCAR, EWE said closing of the transaction is expected during the first half of 2019.
“As of today, apart from the transfer of EWE Turkey Holding and its affiliated companies to SOCAR Turkey, there has no further cooperation between our groups been planned yet,” said the company.
SOCAR has acquired EWE Turkey Holding, owned by the German energy company EWE AG.
Together with the holding, SOCAR acquired the holding’s assets - Bursagaz, Kayserigaz, Enervis, EWE Enerji and Millenicom. The deal will be completed after approval by an anti-monopoly authority and other responsible structures of Turkey.
Earlier, EWE AG told Trend that the decision on the possible sale of its assets in Turkey is related to the optimization of the company's activity.
EWE Turkey Holding has been operating in Turkey since 2007 and is the fourth biggest supplier of natural gas in Turkey. In 2017, the company’s turnover amounted to almost 2.4 billion Turkish liras.
SOCAR is represented in Turkey by its subsidiary SOCAR Turkey Energy. So far, SOCAR Turkey Energy has invested over $14 billion in the Turkish economy. Meanwhile, 5,000 people work in the company, while the annual export potential reaches $3 billion. Among SOCAR’s current assets in Turkey are the Petkim petrochemical complex, the STAR refinery and the Petlim port.
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