MaltaToday is detecting something wrong too:

“the Delimara gas plant contract, a first tranche of which was signed on Friday last week, if they are submitting in writing.”

Notice the use of the phrase “first trance.” As if a power purchase agreement is signed in tranches.

“The consortium ElectroGas has so far entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire a 30% stake in Enemalta’s special purpose vehicle Malta Power & Gas Ltd (MPGL). ”

What we know is that in a stock exchange announcement, Gasol has said that it has signed a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire its 30% share in the company MPGL, and that the other shareholders will do so separately.

“So far, the government has been cagey about whether it had secured the contract with ElectroGas: Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Reporter said the contract had been signed, but the Opposition is raising questions about the veracity of his statement.”

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/39000/mizzi_unwilling_to_answer_question_on_electrogas_deal

Full text of Gasol plc announcement:

“Electrogas Malta acquires Special Purpose Project Company for LNG to Power Project in Malta

Gasol, the AIM listed gas to power company, is delighted to announce that, as part of a consortium called ElectroGas Malta (“ElectroGas”), it has entered in to a Share Purchase Agreement (“SPA”) pursuant to which it will acquire a 30 per cent. stake in Malta Power & Gas Limited (“MPGL”), a special purpose company established by Malta’s state power utility, Enemalta, to own and operate the LNG-to-power project (the “Project”) in Malta that was awarded to ElectroGas in late 2013. MPGL has obtained the relevant development permits for the Project.

Pursuant to the SPA, the remainder of MPGL’s shares will be acquired by the other members of the ElectroGas consortium as follows: SOCAR Trading SA (20%), GEM Holdings Ltd (30%) and Siemens Projects Ventures, the equity financing arm of Siemens Financial Services (20%).

ElectroGas intends to rename MPGL “ElectroGas Malta Ltd.” prior to closing the financing for the Project.

Commenting on the Project, Gasol COO Alan Buxton, said: “This is a significant step in the development of the Project and we look forward to the implementation phase.”

http://hsprod.investis.com/ir/gas/ir.jsp?page=news-item&item=1762588006285312

“ElectroGas intends to rename MPGL “ElectroGas Malta Ltd.” prior to closing the financing for the Project. ”

http://hsprod.investis.com/ir/gas/ir.jsp?page=news-item&item=1762588006285312

Does this not mean that Electrogas has not even concluded the financing of the project as yet?

If the financing has not been concluded as yet, the project is not yet doable and shareholders are unlikely to commit to the project until the financing is committed.

Gasol has not specified the value of the shareholding to which it has committed.

“NO REPLIES ON POWER STATION CONTRACT

Earlier, during Question Time in Parliament, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi turned down Opposition requests to publish the contract awarded by the government to Electrogas on the new power station. He also refused to give details.

In all cases, he said questions had to be put in writing as they had nothing to do with the original question.”

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140514/local/government-turns-down-requests-to-publish-henley-and-power-station-contracts.519014

I am morally convinced that the contract for power purchase between Enemalta on the one hand and Electrogas Malta Limited (a company still called Malta Power & Gas Limited and still controlled by Enemalta) has not been signed as yet.

Journalists should check at the Registry of Companies if filings have been made about changes in the shareholding of Malta Power & Gas Limited over the past few days, since the beginning of May.

The original shareholders of MPGL are Enemalta and Aviation Fuelling Services Ltd.

It is not clear if Gasol plc has merely signed a commitment to buy, or if it has already acquired a 30% stake in MPGL.

The findings should be interesting.

http://www.enemalta.com.mt/news.aspx?cat=3&news=9

‘Counted days’ is a literal translation of ‘giorni contati’. Mole wins a morbid cushion.

From one who expected to have documents ‘scannati’, which means skinned.

Read all those companies who refused the reality of EU membership. Guess who those voted in and what they were promised.

‘…Investor confidence in the manufacturing sector is currently suffering due to high operating costs especially in terms of energy rates that are the third most expensive in Europe. Other expenses including transport and salaries are increasing at a higher rate than productivity….’

He’ll obviously blame the previous administration when truth is those rates were planned for reduction via the interconnector. I believe a 40% reduction at lowest demand.

Which interconnector has gone off the radar, no deadline, no progress update, and no plan to utilise it to its maximum capability anyway.

The effects of his hare brained scheme, kick off a deficit spending spree to ‘stimulate’ some fatuous internal demand artificially, bite back.

He’s compromised his ability to maneouver by locking himself in someone else’s business strategy, and that means no reduction until that bloody power station is on line. Of course apetite’s reduced, would anyone put their money in a place where the prime minister keeps changing tack according to the microphone’s political slant?

Nice. Muscat wants to play Mintoff in a Malta which open economy requires the exact opposite.