gas natural

Energy company formerly  known as Gas Natural to invest 5.3 billion euros in organic growth over next five years

Company CEO says moving its registered office to Madrid may not be “forever”

54% of the energy company’s investments were made overseas

The Catalan Government may sanction the energy company Gas Natural Fenosa over the death of an 81-year-old woman, who died on Sunday night in a fire at her home in Reus. All evidence points to the victim, whose energy supply was cut off two months ago, being affected by energy poverty and illuminating the flat with candles. Indeed, the candles appear to be the cause of the fire that burned the mattress where she slept, according to the investigation carried out by the Catalan police, Mossos d’Esquadra. Municipal sources explained in a press conference this Tuesday that the Social Services of the City Hall were not aware of the woman’s lack of electricity due to a non-payment, as they didn’t receive any request for financial assistance, nor a notification from the supplier. Gas Natural now has a period of five days to respond and prove that it fulfilled the established protocols, otherwise the Catalan Government will fine the company.

The Barcelona-based energy company Gas Natural Fenosa, through its subsidiary Global Power Generation (GPG), has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake of 85% in two solar plants in Brazil from Gransolar Group. The operation will involve an investment of €85 million to implement their first power generation project in the Brazilian market. The production of these two facilities will be about 154 GWh a year. With this agreement, and the construction of a 91 MW plant in Australia announced last August, the holding company GPG Gas Natural Fenosa has already exceeded the target of energy production set for 2018 in its strategic plan.

The Catalan multinational, through its international power generation business company Global Power Generation (GPG), has been awarded its first wind farm contract in Australia. The 91-megawatt park will be constructed in the state of New South Wales, 90 kilometres from the capital city Canberra. Gas Natural will invest €120 million euros in the wind farm, which will be named Crookwell II and will be situated in one of the more environmentally friendly areas of Australia. The contract will last for 20 years. The wind farm will be operational in the second half of 2018, according to Gas Natural.

“The EU expects that the Midcat will be built by 2020”, stated EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action, Miguel Arias Cañete. He made this statement this Monday during the ‘Natural gas and the energy security of Europe’ seminar, organised by Gas Natural Fenosa. The Midcat pipeline is set to be built through the Catalan Pyrenees, linking the Iberian Peninsula with French and Central European networks and aims to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas by 40%. According to Cañete the project has a budget of 470 million euros, from which 170 million will have to be paid by Spain. Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig “lamented” the delay in this strategic infrastructure and attributed it to “the lack of enthusiasm” of the French government.

After months of speculation, Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, the leader of the Christian-Democrat party UDC – which is the smallest force within the governing  two-party centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU – presented his new political initiative to build an alternative option between the current territorial model and independence from Spain. Duran has been advocating for the creation of a confederated Catalan State within a more decentralised Spain, which would recognise Catalonia's nationhood, respect Catalan language and launch a fairer inter-territorial fiscal scheme for Catalan interests. With the platform 'Construïm' ('We build', in English), Duran is now trying to reach new potential voters "who feel orphaned from any political party"; voters worried about "social issues" and the economy, "beyond the debate about independence". With early elections on the horizon, the initiative is likely to represent the split of the CiU, which has been the main actor of Catalan politics for the last 35 years.

The energy company Gas Natural Fenosa announced they have launched a tender offer for 100% of the share capital of the Chilean Compañía General de Electricidad (CGE), which represents a €2.6 billion purchase. The transaction is to be the biggest international  acquisition by the Barcelona-based company. The total size of the operation, including the consolidated debt of CGE and its subsidiaries, is approximately €6 billion. It expected to generate over €600 million gross profit next year. Purchase of CGE, which distributes electricity to 43% of the Chilean market, and has 2.5 million customers, will increase the Catalan company's presence in Latin America. Furthermore, this deal will allow Gas Natural Fenosa to meet its 2015 growth targets and strengthen its presence in Latin America.

Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa earned €1.445 billion in 2013, 0.3% more than in 2012. The strong international customer base of the energy company has neutralized the “decline in business” in Spain. This fall at Spanish level was due to the fiscal pressure increase and to the impact of the latest Spanish Government’s reform of the electricity market, which led to a shortfall of €455 million in 2013 for the Catalan multinational. The aggregate EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) stood at €5.085 billion, 0.1% more than in 2012. International business accounted for 44.1% of the EBITDA, while it had represented 43.2% in 2012. In addition, the Spanish market contributed to 55.9% of Gas Natural Fenosa’s EBITDA, a 1.6% drop on last year figures.

The Catalan company has signed an agreement with the Shah Deniz consortium for a 25-year period. The Azerbaijani company will supply 1bcm of natural gas per year. The agreement is conditional on the final decision on the project investment, a step planned for later this year. The development of this project will open a new supply route to Europe through the ‘Southern Corridor’, which will allow Europe to access gas reserves in the Caspian Sea area. Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa will receive the gas in facilities based in Italy, one end of the European gas pipeline passing through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania, and crossing the Adriatic Sea. The Catalan company said that this supply will consolidate its presence and strengthen its gas supply business in Italy.

Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF) has signed a contract with the South Korean company Kogas to supply between 1 and 1.5 bcm for the next two years. This is the first deal that Catalan GNF has signed with Kogas, the largest gas operator in South Korea and the biggest importer of LNG in the world. Furthermore, in recent months, GNF has signed contracts with companies in both Japan and India, contributing to its increase in the Asian market, which has a high growth potential in the coming years.  International sales now represent 30% of the total portfolio of the Catalan energy company.

The multinational energy company has confirmed it will continue operating in Panama for at least 15 more years through its subsidiary companies Edernet and Edechi, which control 65% of the country’s electricity market, supplying more than 500,000 clients. Gas Natural Fenosa owns 51% of both Edernet and Edechi, while the rest of the shares are controlled by Panama’s Government. The Catalan multinational entered Panama in 1998. According to Gas Natural Fenosa, it has invested more than €400 million to strengthen the electric power network of the Central American country and it foresees an additional investment of €230 million within the next 4 years.