-BG is expected to complete its planned 40% stake sale in
Chile's GNL Quintero by the end of this year
-Enagas could acquire the remaining 20% stake in joint venture
with Oman Oil
-GNL Quintero's current shareholders are BG, Enagas, ENAP,
Endesa and Chile's Metrogas
(Adds details beginning in fourth paragraph)
Spanish energy company Enagas SA (ENGGY, ENG.MC) said Thursday
that it has acquired from BG Group PLC (BRGYY, BG.LN) a 20% stake
in GNL Quintero SA, the operator of a liquefied natural gas
terminal in central Chile, for $176 million.
Earlier this year, British natural-gas company BG said it would
sell a 40% equity interest in GNL Quintero as part of its noncore
assets' divesting plan.
BG is expected to sell to Enagas the remaining 20% stake for
another $176 million by the end of this year.
Enagas could buy the remaining stake in a joint venture with one
of its shareholders, Oman Oil Company SAOC, an energy company
controlled by the government of Oman, according to an unsourced
report from El Mercurio newspaper.
Oman Oil, which has held a 5% stake in Enagas since 2009,
doesn't have equity interests in Latin America-based companies,
according to El Mercurio.
A GNL Quintero spokeperson wasn't immediately available to
comment on the newspaper report.
BG plans to use the proceeds from the sale to finance part of
its $22 billion capital expenditure plan over the next two
years.
On top of Enagas, GNL Quintero's shareholders are Chile's state
oil company Empresa Nacional del Petroleo SA, or ENAP; power
generator Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA (EOC, ENDESA.SN);
Chile's largest gas distributor Metrogas; and BG.
Each shareholder currently owns a 20% stake, Enagas said in a
statement.
Write to Graciela Ibanez at graciela.ibanez@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires