Azerbaijan may become shareholder of Latvian company

Andris Ameriks, Member of the European Parliament, has said that Azerbaijan may become one of the shareholders of the Latvian Latvijas Gāze company soon.

“Work is being carried out in this sphere, and there may be interesting news in the near future,” Ameriks said in an interview with Baltijas Balss, Report informs.

He noted that new vectors of cooperation open wide opportunities for Latvian companies, allowing them to save jobs and create new ones.

“People say, one door closes and another one opens. Once Peter the Great opened a window to Europe, so the European Union is now opening a window to Asia,” the MEP added.

“We discussed our cooperation issues. In the current geopolitical situation, Azerbaijan can become a serious partner for the European Union, which will help us solve energy problems. After all, Azerbaijan is already supplying natural gas to European countries such as Bulgaria and Greece, 60 per cent of Italy's needs are met by Azerbaijani gas and this is not the limit,” Ameriks said while commenting on the recent talks held in Brussels with the Azerbaijani minister of digital development and transport.

Latvijas Gāze was Latvia’s integrated gas supply company until April 3, 2017, when the system operator of gas pipelines Inčukalns UGS Conexus Baltic Grid and Gaso distribution network maintenance company were separated from it.

Latvijas Gāze was privatised in 1997. The German Ruhrgas International GmbH and the Russian Gazprom company became its shareholders. The Latvian government received 80 million euros ($83 million) for this deal and established a monopoly for Latvijas Gāze on the purchase, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas in Latvia until April 3, 2017, that is, for 20 years. Shareholders invested 500 million euros ($524 million) in the development of the enterprise in 1997-2012.

The company's shareholders are PAS Gazprom (34 per cent), Marguerite Gas I.S.a.r.l. investment fund (28.97 per cent), Uniper Ruhrgas International GmbH (18.26 per cent). Some 16 per cent of the shares belong to the SIA Itera Latvija. The remaining 2.77 per cent of the shares are listed on the Nasdaq Riga (Riga Stock Exchange) on a free list.