Repsol Agrees to Sell Peru Pipeline Interest to Enagás -- Update

By Ryan Dube 

LIMA, Peru--The ownership of a consortium that operates a Peruvian gas pipeline shifted hands Friday, as companies announced three deals put at almost $700 million.

Repsol SA said Friday that it reached an agreement with energy company Enagás SA to sell its 10% stake in the Transportadora de Gas del Perú consortium for about $219 million.

Repsol recently sold other assets in Peru as part of a broader divestment plan. Last year, it sold a minority holding in Perú LNG, which produces liquefied natural gas.

Enagás said in a separate statement that it also entered into a deal with U.S.-based Hunt Oil to acquire its stake in the consortium, known as TgP. Enagás said the two deals are valued at $491 million, giving it a total ownership of 22.38% of TgP.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, or CPPIB, also disclosed Friday that it will acquire a 10.4% stake in the consortium from Peruvian construction firm Graña y Montero SAA for $200 million.

"This transaction is in line with our strategy to invest in key sectors in Latin America," said Andres Bourbonnais, the CPPIB's senior vice president of private investments. Mr. Bourbonnais said that the TgP will be its first infrastructure investment in Peru.

Graña y Montero had recently acquired a stake in the consortium. In November, the company announced a deal to acquire a 12.38% stake from Pluspetrol Resource Corp.

Transportadora de Gas del Perú operates a pipeline that transports gas from the Camisea fields in Peru's southeastern Amazon region to the country's Pacific coast.

About 50% of the feedstock for Peru's electricity generation depends on the pipeline.

The consortium includes Sonatrach of Algeria, South Korea's SK Corp., Franco-Belgian GDF Suez-Tractebel SA, and Transportadora de Gas Internacional SA, which is a unit of Colombia's Grupo Energía de Bogotá.

Transportadora de Gas Internacional SA is also a newcomer to the TgP consortium. Earlier in January, the company announced its acquisition of a 23.61% stake in TgP from Tecpetrol International SA. Tecpetrol is a unit of Argentina's Techint Group.

Write to Ryan Dube at [e-mail]

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