ΕιδήσειςΕυρωπαϊκές Ειδήσεις Korea Gas May Sell Part of 20% Stake in Canadian LNG Project dj Τρι, 15 Οκτωβρίου 2013 - 18:14
Korea Gas Corp. (036460.SE), the world's largest corporate importer of liquefied natural gas, may sell part of its 20% stake in a Canadian natural-gas project as part of efforts to reorganize its finances, its chief executive said Tuesday. The move comes in the wake of South Korean government demands that state-run energy companies improve their financial standing by selling unprofitable, noncore overseas assets, and follows an announcement by Kogas in February that it is looking for buyers for part of its share of an Australia LNG venture. South Korea 's state energy giants have taken on massive debt over the past five years as part of their quest to acquire overseas resources to bolster the country's energy security. Now, despite a heavy reliance on imports of fossil fuels and plans to trim dependency on nuclear energy, the Korean government is looking to sell some of these assets. "Reducing our debt levels is always on my mind and we're taking a series of restructuring measures," Chief Executive Jang Seok-hyo told reporters. The chief executive didn't say how much of the stake it might sell in the LNG Canada project, a joint venture comprising Shell Canada Ltd., Kogas, Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.TO) and PetroChina Co. (601857.SH, PTR) that is proposing to build and operate a liquefied-natural-gas export terminal in Kitimat , British Columbia . The final amount to be sold hasn't been decided yet but reducing the Kogas stake to 10%-15% of the project could be reasonable, Mr. Jang said, adding that the company is aiming to work out a concrete plan for the sale by early 2014. At least six projects to export LNG from Canada to markets in Asia are being planned, although none has yet taken final investment decisions. Large-scale projects like these, which can cost tens of billions of dollars, often see changes in equity structure during the planning stage. "As part of our efforts to improve financial standing at our company, we're going to trim some stakes in our overseas assets, but the timing is not quite right for that," Mr. Jang said, citing so-far-fruitless efforts to sell part of its 15% stake in Australia 's Gladstone LNG project. "It seems energy players are waiting for gas prices to fall further so that they can buy gas-developing projects at a bargain. We might have missed good opportunities to sell our assets," he said. Kogas said in February it has chosen Samsung Securities Co. (016360.SE) and Rothschild to advise on and sell two-thirds of its share in the US$18.5 billion GLNG project, which the Korean company acquired in late 2010 for 665 million Australian dollars (US$688 million). Mr. Jang said Tuesday the plan is to sell a 5% stake in GLNG to a local company and another 5% to a foreign company. He also said Kogas is seeking to expand joint purchases of LNG with Japanese companies as well as local private companies to help lower buying prices in the Asian market. " Japan is a big LNG buyer. I don't think we need to compete against each other, which would only push up prices," said the Kogas executive. "By joining hands, we could be mutually beneficial." Earlier this month, the Japanese and Indian governments announced plans to set up a multilateral gas-buyers group to push for lower gas prices. Διαβάστε ακόμα Ποια Είναι η Επόμενη Ευρωπαία Επίτροπος Περιβάλλοντος; Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 17:40 Σερβία: Κατάρρευση του Αγροτικού Τομέα λόγω της Λειψυδρίας Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 17:20 Λιώνει Ταχύτατα ο Μεγαλύτερος Παγετώνας της Γαλλίας Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 17:00 ΕΕ: Βοήθεια 101,5 Εκατομμυρίων Ευρώ στην Ελλάδα για τις Πλημμύρες του 2023 Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 16:20 Great Sea Interconnector: Θα Λύσουν τον 'Γόρδιο Δεσμό' Μητσοτάκης και Χριστοδουλίδης; Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 16:00
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