Azerbaijan's SOCAR Expects Talks with Greece Over Gas Grid

Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR expects to resume talks over acquiring a stake in Greek gas grid operator DESFA in December, SOCAR's president said on Monday.

The potential deal, which has been negotiated since 2013, would involve SOCAR buying a 66 percent stake in DESFA for around 400 million euros ($457 million) from the Greek state and Hellenic Petroleum.

"We are waiting for results of the early parliamentary election in Greece and will be discussing this issue with a new Greek government in December," SOCAR's Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters.

"We don't expect any changes in regard to our intention to buy a 66 percent stake in DESFA," he added.

The European Commission has expressed competition concerns over the deal and has been reviewing it.

Greece's privatization agency said at the end of August it expected that deal could be agreed by the end of the year, while a Greek privatisation official had said that Athens was examining an option under which SOCAR would buy the stake and then divest at least 17 percent either to the Greek state or a third entity to address the EU's concerns.

Greece's privatization plan has produced poor results since the country signed its first bailout in 2010 and many asset sales have been thrown in doubt since a leftist government took power in January.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova)