Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) and GEK TERNA Group recently celebrated their strategic partnership in the Greece's energy sector.
In its first ever acquisition of an energy asset in Greece, QPI successfully completed the acquisition of a 25% of GEK TERNA's share in HERON II power plant. This marks the first stage of the partnership.
In the next stage, QPI will join GEK TERNA and GDF Suez in owning and operating Greece's "most efficient" power plant.
The acquisition marks the first time that a Qatari state-owned company has invested in a Greek energy asset.
It also solidifies an alliance between QPI and GEK TERNA that holds much potential for global diversification through projects and investments in the energy industry, principally in the LNG value chain and infrastructure, based not only in Greece, but across Europe as well.
On the occasion of the strategic partnership, QPI chief executive officer Nasser al-Jaidah said, "The acquisition of the 25% share in HERON II will form the basis of a long and fruitful strategic partnership between QPI and GEK TERNA. QPI is always seeking to forge new alliances with global partners and in GEK TERNA we found a synergistic match that will propel QPI's mission to drive Qatar's global diversification, expansion, and investment in the energy sector. This is just the first step of a strategic alliance that further bolsters Qatar's standing as a global energy supplier."
GEK TERNA CEO George Peristeris said, "We are very pleased with the collaboration between QPI and our group. This is a milestone, not only for our company but also for Greece, as it is the first time that a Qatari state company, and one of the top global players, invests in a Greek energy asset. I hope that it will be the first stage of establishing a sustainable and fruitful partnership."
The event was attended by Asimakis Papageorgiou, Greece's Deputy Minister of Environment, Energy & Climate Change; Qatar's Ambassador in Athens Soltan Saad al-Moraikhi; QPI chief financial officer Abdulaziz al-Kuwari; QPI global communications manager Yousef Fakhroo; CEO of QEnergy Europe, a subsidiary of GEK TERNA Group, Dr Theodore Thedoropoulos; GDF SUEZ Energy Europe branch executive vice president Marc Josz, and HERON II board members Marzooq Tariq al-Shamlan and Mohamed Jaber al-Sulaiti.
© Gulf Times 2014
