All American gas plans in Basilicata and beyond
The American fund Davidson Kemper has acquired the Cugno Le Macine concession for gas storage in Basilicata (once linked to Russian capital). And it launches Thaleia, an infrastructure platform led by Marco Reggiani (formerly of Snam and Italgas). All the details
The US investment management company Davidson Kemper, together with the Italian partner One33, have announced the launch of Thaleia, presenting it as an "infrastructure platform" dedicated to the ecological transition and the enhancement of European energy security, focused on Europe and in particular on the Mediterranean region.
THE ROLE OF MARCO REGGIANI
Thaleia will be led by Marco Reggiani, in the dual role of managing director and general manager. Reggiani was in the past chairman of Stogit (a company controlled by Snam which dealt with the storage of natural gas, which was later merged into the parent company), chairman of Italgas (the main Italian gas distribution company) and general counselor of Snam (the company which manages the Italian gas pipeline network).
THE ACQUISITION OF CUGNO LE MILLS STORAGE
The establishment of the Thaleia platform follows the acquisition, by Davidson Kemper and with the support of One33, of the natural gas storage concession “Cugno le Macine Stoccaggio”. It is located in Basilicata, in the province of Matera, and is the largest gas storage site in Southern Italy. It refers to the Grottole-Ferrandina gas field.
The concession dates back to 2012 and the operator was Geogastock, controlled by the Russian company Eviva (bankrupt). As Staffetta Quotidiana writes, the Cugno le Macine Stoccaggio project has "never taken off", also for reasons of local opposition. Thaleia instead declares that it wants to develop its "full potential", which exceeds 800 million cubic meters of gas.
THALEIA'S NEXT MOVES
Interviewed by Celestina Dominelli for Il Sole 24 Ore , Reggiani explains that "the first task of the platform will be to fully develop the potential of the concession", which will expire in 2042 but can be extended to 2052.
"In the medium-long term", however, "Thaleia is betting on an ambitious acquisition plan" in Europe and in Italy. Initially the focus will be on the natural gas supply chain; after which it will expand to the various sectors of the energy transition.
Reggiani specified that the platform has no intention of entering the gas sale market and is not interested in the possible sale of the storage activities of Edison , controlled by the French group EDF. “We are not willing to acquire anything,” he said.
ALL ABOUT DAVIDSON KEMPNER
Davidson Kempner Capital Management is an investment management company active worldwide: it is headquartered in New York with offices also in Philadelphia, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Mumbai. It manages approximately $38 billion in assets.
The investment manager is Princeton University board member Anthony Yoseloff.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/thaleia-cugno-le-macine-stoccaggio/ on Fri, 05 May 2023 10:37:00 +0000.