Belgian gas pipeline operator Fluxys may seek to buy a stake in Gasunie from the Dutch state next year, the chief executive of the Brussels-based firm said, as it aims to become a hub for gas transport across Europe.
The company previously said it might consider a merger with Gasunie, but the Dutch government's plan to privatise part of Gasunie could mean it takes a stake instead.
"Next year there will probably be a discussion in the Netherlands about a partial privatisation of Gasunie," Chief Executive Walter Peeraer told Reuters as part of a series of interviews on the gas market.
"This is something we will probably look at. It could be an opportunity to increase the cooperation between Gasunie and Fluxys on a more structural level," he added.
A tie-up with the Dutch gas operator would enable Fluxys to link its pipeline network to Denmark and Russia through the Netherlands and Germany, adding to its existing connection to Italy through collaboration with Snam.
Peeraer also said Fluxys could become a partner in one of the two pipelines that will take Azeri gas to Europe - Nabucco West or the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
"If we are asked to participate, we will not say no," he said, adding there were no plans to do so at the moment.
The Dutch government said in 2011 it planned to privatise state power and gas grid operators to raise funds to upgrade their networks, but elections in 2012 delayed that process.
Fluxys and Gasunie already cooperate on an operations level and the Dutch firm also has repeatedly made overtures to Fluxys.
Peeraer said Fluxys would be able to mobilise up to 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) to spend on acquisitions, including company funds and credit facilities. He said its shareholders are supportive of the expansion plans and also could provide more funds if the right opportunity came around.
Fluxys is 77.7 percent owned by Belgian municipalities through holding company Publigas. Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owns 20 percent, and Belgium's Federal Holding and Investment company just over 2 percent.
Peeraer said his shareholders were ready to support Fluxys in making an acquisition as long as the deal is profitable, provides links to its core Belgian market and gives it a controlling interest.
_0">"Our three shareholders are ready to follow us in sound investments," Peeraer said.
Fluxys has been on the lookout for acquisitions.
It deepened its alliance with Italy's Snam last year to develop infrastructure projects across Europe and tried unsuccessfully to bid for Czech gas transmission system Net4Gas in February. It also bid for French network TIGF, which went to a consortium including Snam earlier this year.
LNG, STORAGE SLOWDOWN
Fluxys' liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes have fallen in recent years as high Asian demand has diverted shipments.
_5">In the first quarter of 2013, eight LNG tankers offloaded gas at the company's Zeebrugge terminal, compared with 15 over the same period last year.
_6">Despite the lower volumes, some LNG income is guaranteed well beyond 2020 through long-term supply contracts, notably with Qatar's Rasgas, one of the world's biggest LNG producers, Peeraer said.
_7">Peeraer said there was no interest yet from potential U.S. LNG suppliers to ship gas to Zeebrugge and that it was too early to pre-empt the outcome of a U.S. political debate over exporting shale gas.
_8">In Britain, utility Centrica has already signed a 20-year deal to import U.S. gas from 2018.
_9">Fluxys's gas storage business has been hit, meanwhile, by low demand as traders currently make little profit from storing cheap gas for sale in winter.
_10">"Demand is declining but not at the peak. When it's cold, demand is higher than before," Peeraer said.
_11">Fluxys owns almost 90 percent of bourse-listed Fluxys Belgium, which operates Belgium's gas network. ($1 = 0.7705 euros) (Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac in Amsterdam and Barbara Lewis and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels; editing by Jane Baird)
_12">