Greece seeks gas discount from Gazprom ahead of DEPA privatization - newspaper
MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax) - Gazprom and the Greek authorities are discussing a reduction in the gas price given that the Russian gas giant wins the competition to buy Greek national gas distributor DEPA, the newspaper Kathimerini reported.
Gazprom delivers about 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year to Greece, at the highest price in any Gazprom export contract: $475 per 1,000 cubic meters.
A delegation led by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller was in Greece on Tuesday for talks with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the Gazprom press center said. "The sides praised Russian-Greek cooperation in the gas sphere and noted their interest in further development of mutually beneficial cooperation," the gas giant said in a statement.
Gazprom, which Kathimerini says is the leading contender to buy DEPA, is concerned over maintaining its interests in the event the European Commission blocks the purchase or imposes harsh requirements on the buyer. Another concern is the payment arrears among DEPA customers.
The deadline for submitting the mandatory offer to purchase DEPA is May 29.