Energy giants to compete for Ankara’s gas distribution
Posted by meb at March 7th, 2008
Energy giants are racing to participate in the privatization of Ankara’s natural gas distribution, according to Veysek Karani Demir, the general manager of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s Başkent Doğalgaz Dağıtım distribution company, which currently controls gas distribution in the capital.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Demir said companies from the US, Russia and Europe will compete for the privatization along with domestic energy giants. Thirty-five firms have acquired the bid specifications for the tender for the distribution rights, which will be held on March 14, he added.
Demir said they had sent letters promoting the tender to embassies, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD), the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), municipalities and numerous energy institutions in Europe.
He said many energy giants will participate in the tender and that the demand was higher than they had expected. He said 17 firms had applied for access to the data room — where possible bidders get access to the information about the company being sold. He said the firms asked around 200 questions and a comprehensive briefing had been made. He also said none of the firms were from Gulf region.
Demir said the Ankara Municipality will make further investments with the money acquired from this tender after paying its $676 million debt to the Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and $200 million to the Treasury. He said the rest of the money will be used for public transportation facilities, such as work on the city’s subway.
Some of the major companies that acquired bid specifications are Bosporus Gaz, Zorlu Petrogas, Energaz, Türkerler İnşaat, Gaz Natural, Çalık Enerji, ENBW, Suez-Tractebel, Palgaz, HSBC, Yüksel İnşaat, Koç Statoil and JP Morgan.
The companies who applied for data room were RWE (Merrill Lynch), Bosporus Gaz, Zorlu Petrogas, Gaz de France, Suez-Tractebel, Energaz, Nurol Holding, Çalık Enerji, Gaz Natural, Palgaz, Akfenhes, Güriş, Eni, ENBW, Limak, Elektromed and Unicredit.
Başkent Doğalgaz Dağıtım has YTL 700 million in authorized capital, and the bid bond amount has been set at $50 million.
Meanwhile the distribution range of the company will be enlarged to include Ankara’s Kızılcahamam district. According to a statement from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) published in yesterday’s Official Gazette. The statement said Başkent Doğalgaz Dağıtım had applied for an extension of the distribution area to include Kızılıcahamam and that it would be implementing the same amortization and subscription fee as that of its current distribution region.
The statement said if any other company applies for natural gas distribution rights in Kızılcahamam at lower rates than Başkent Doğalgaz, then a tender will be held for the distribution license. But if no other request is submitted to the EPDK, the district will be included in the distribution area of Başkent Doğalgaz. The due date for the application is March 28 and the bid bond is set at $150,000.
source: Today’s Zaman
Related posts: