Share

Gazprom puts Lithuania assets up for sale

Vilnius - Russian energy giant Gazprom on Thursday put its stake in two Lithuanian energy companies up for sale, just days after regulators in Vilnius fined it for blocking competition in the Baltic state.

"The prime minister has been notified that Gazprom...has decided to sell its shares in Amber Grid and Lietuvos Dujos," spokesperson for Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius told AFP Thursday.

"We have been notified, but the transaction is not yet complete. The deadline is Monday," she added.

The shares in the state-controlled Lietuvos Dujos gas utility and Amber Grid gas distributor are worth €121m ($163m).

According to NASDAQ OMX Vilnius, 37.37% of shares in the Amber Grid gas distributor and 37.32% in the Lietuvos Dujos gas utility were tendered for sale on Thursday morning.

Lithuanian energy firms Lietuvos Energija and Epso-G, both of which have been eyeing the stakes, on Thursday formally launched bids for them.

Vilnius slapped a €35.7m ($48.4m) fine on Gazprom on Tuesday over its moves to block competition in the ex-Soviet state.

The fine comes as the European Commission is poised to complete an anti-trust probe targeting Gazprom over concerns the Russian energy giant was hindering competition across central and eastern Europe.

Lithuania acquired majority control over its gas and power utilities in May, part of a strategy aimed at ending Russian giant Gazprom's monopoly on not just gas supplies but also distribution in the country.

The country of three million still imports all of its natural gas from Russia.

Taking control of the infrastructure is key to its energy diversification strategy, which is focused on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal due to open on its Baltic Sea coast by the end of this year.

Earlier this month Lithuania's gas utility said it had reached an agreement with Gazprom to slash the price of its natural gas imports.

The gas utility, which has a 40% market share in the small Baltic state, did not specify the size of the price cut, saying only that it would be passed on to the market soon.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.9%
Rand - Pound
24.10
-0.9%
Rand - Euro
20.59
-0.7%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.42
-0.9%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.8%
Platinum
915.75
-0.8%
Palladium
1,028.36
-3.5%
Gold
2,159.96
+0.2%
Silver
25.03
-0.6%
Brent Crude
85.34
-0.1%
Top 40
66,252
0.0%
All Share
72,431
0.0%
Resource 10
53,317
0.0%
Industrial 25
100,473
0.0%
Financial 15
16,622
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders