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Abu Dhabi TAQA to up stake in Dutch gas storage

TAQA said in October it had agreed with partners to invest 800 million euros ($1 billion) in the Bergermeer project, which is set to be Europe’s biggest gas storage facility offering third-party access.

TAQA said in a statement it had signed an agreement “for the transfer of a 24 percent stake in the Bergermeer Gas Storage project”, subject to approval by the Dutch government.

The transfer of the stake — previously held by Dyas and Petro-Canada — will raise TAQA’s equity to 60 percent, it said, without giving the value of the deal. Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) will continue to hold a 40 percent stake.

Shares in TAQA ended 0.8 percent higher on Wednesday.

Sources told Reuters in September that Dyas and Petro-Canada might be looking to sell their stakes in the project.

Commercial operations for the gas project are expected to begin in 2013.

TAQA operates in 13 countries including Canada, Britain and India, and its interests include power generation, desalination, upstream oil and gas and structured finance, according to the company’s website.

In May, TAQA reported a more than seven-fold surge in first-quarter profit, attributing the increase to rising oil prices year-on-year.

Gazprom will provide cushion gas for the project, which is necessary to ensure the reservoir has optimal pressure to start storage activities, in exchange for working capacity and a participating interest in the operator of the facility.