Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.27
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Spain’s Enagas, which holds 16 percent share in the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, has reduced its debt by 733 million euros in 2018, Trend reports with reference to the company’s message.
The company said it has a debt structure in which more than 80 percent is at a fixed rate, limiting interest rate risk.
“There are also no significant maturities until 2022. In their yearly review, the rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch confirmed their long-term rating of A- for Enagás.”
Enagás said it made a net profit of 442.6 million euros in 2018, a 1 percent increase on comparable terms.
“This enabled the company to meet its targets for the twelfth consecutive year. A key feature of these results is the contribution from affiliates, accounting for about 20 percent,” said the company.
Enagás said it will maintain a policy of medium and long-term sustainable dividends, with an increase of 5 percent per year until 2020 and at least 1 percent per year for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.
The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.
Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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