EurActiv: Aliyev - Azerbaijan Concerned by Commission’s DESFA Investigation

Azerbaijan, which has acquired Greek gas transmission system operator DESFA, is wondering why the European Commission is taking so long to decide if the deal is compatible with EU law, Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Natig Aliyev told EurActiv.

In December 2013, Azerbaijan's state-owned oil and gas producer SOCAR won the tender, and both a 66% stake in Greece's gas transmission operator DESFA, for €400 million. The Greek state controls the remaining 34% stake in DESFA. The deal boosted the chances that the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will win its bid for Azeri gas, against its competitor Nabucco, and indeed, soon after, TAP won over Nabucco. SOCAR has a 20% stake in TAP.

Now the EU hails the project to bring Azeri gas to Europe by 2019-2020 via the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), of which TAP is part, as the first real step towards the diversification of gas sources, and decreasing energy dependence from Russian gas, especially for Southeastern Europe.

But in November 2014, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation to determine whether the acquisition of DESFA SOCAR is in line with the EU Merger Regulation.

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