Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/193056
12 BUSINESS & FINANCE maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2013 to anti- corruption and allows stakeholders to access relevant information." Azeri investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova describes its organisation and structure as "ambiguous to say the least". "It is registered in Switzerland and is shared, half by the Azeri state company and half by private investors who sprung out from nowhere," Ismayilova, who is currently investigating this story, told us. "Nobody knows where the capital came from and how private investors got the shares in the first place, since there was no public bid." SOCAR Trading was established in 2007 by Supra Holding Limited. SOCAR owned 50%, while two offshore companies registered in the British Virginian Islands and in the free economic zone of Dubai owned 50%. The company's headquarters are in Geneva. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, was also a vice-president of SOCAR and was in charge of building links between SOCAR and the Azerbaijani presidency. "The central role Aliyev holds in the Azerbaijani energy policy is not only due to his background but also to his way to rule. Aliyev seems to manage Azerbaijan as a multinational company, writes energy geopolitics expert Samuel Lussac. SOCAR was embroiled in controversy after its involvement in the demolition of houses on the outskirts of Baku just before the 2012 Eurovision contest. Company employees were accused of beating a journalist who reported protests against the evictions. In 2012, investigative journalist Shavalad Chobanoghlu challenged Azerbaijan's Supreme Court refusal to order the state oil company to disclose funding for its new multimillion-dollar headquarters: the $250 million SOCAR towers, which dominate the Baku skyline. From Benin to Malta Reacting to news that the consortium was chosen by the Maltese government, Alan Buxton, Gasol's chief operating officer commented, "This is a hugely exciting development for Gasol. Although based outside of our usual geographic remit, we have considerable expertise in floating LNG import projects, which we can apply to Malta." In fact Gasol's main area of interest is western Africa, not Malta. Gasol Plc is a UK-based gas company, whose website states that it "intends to purchase stranded gas assets in Nigeria and other countries along the Gulf of Guinea". Gasol's primary geographic focus is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), together with Mauritania. Gasol has already formed a strategic The SOCAR tower in Baku alliance with SOCAR Trading. Under the terms of the strategic alliance, SOCAR supplies all LNG required for the provision of a floating gas storage and regasification vessel in the harbour at Cotonou, Benin. The project involves the regasification of LNG and the supply of that gas to power and industrial customers in Benin, Togo and Ghana. According to Gasol the consortium will have an exclusive right to supply LNG to an existing 149MW plant run by Enemalta and also a new 200MW station to be built by the consortium. Gasol has put the total cost to construct the infrastructure of the new power plant and terminal at €370 million. According to Gasol the FSU for the project will be provided by SOCAR Trading SA on the basis of a long-term (18-year) charter. SOCAR Trading SA will also have the exclusive right to supply LNG for the project. A glossary for the new power plant LNG It is natural gas cooled to -162°C, at which point it becomes liquid. In this compressed form, large volumes can be transported, allowing foreign sources to be shipped to any country in the world. Gas is transported in methane tankers at -160°C in liquid state, and it is then unloaded at regasification plants. In these installations, the temperature of liquefied natural gas is increased and it is thus transformed into a gaseous state to feed the energy grid. The storage and regasification can take place on land or on ships berthed some distance away from the coast. Regasification In regasification terminals, the ultimate destination of LNG carriers, the liquefied natural gas is returned to its initial, gaseous state, then fed into transmission and distribution networks. FSU A floating storage unit is a ship permanently anchored along a jetty which is used to store LNG brought by carriers anchored on the other side of the jetty. The option chosen by the consortium is to have an FSU tanker berthed permanently along a 7,300 m2 jetty. This means that no gas storage tanks will be required on land to store the gas as envisioned by Labour before the elections.