German utility company RWE AG (RWE.XE) has already seen a lot of interest in its gas network unit, board member Berthold Bonekamp said Thursday at an energy conference in Cologne.
However, he didn't name potential buyers.
In June, RWE announced the sale of the German gas pipelines. In return, the European Commission would cancel market abuse proceedings it had launched against the gas unit of the company. RWE expects the final agreement with the European Union on its gas network sale to come in 2009.
Germany's gas transmission grid stretches a total of around 40,000 kilometers. Of this, RWE's grid accounts for about 10%, or 4,100 kilometers.
Meanwhile Wintershall AG, a subsidiary of chemical company BASF AG (BAS.XE), Thursday said it has no interest in buying RWE's gas network.
Board member Rainer Seele told reporters at a press conference the company intends to continue focusing on an expansion of its network of transit gas pipelines that are used for importing natural gas, rather than distributing it to end customers or resellers.
One such focus project for Wintershall is the Nord Stream pipeline, Seele said.
The pipeline is planned to carry gas from the Russian port of Vyborg to the northern German port of Greifswald, bypassing current land routes through Poland, Belarus and Ukraine.
Construction of the 1,200 kilometer Nord Stream pipeline is planned to be completed in 2010. The plans foresee the first gas will arrive in Germany in the spring of 2011