DEPA May Take Loan to Pay for Gas

Greece's state-run DEPA may be forced to take loans to cover the cost of gas imports to avoid blackouts across the country, Bloomberg has reported.

DEPA, which is currently in the process of being privatised with bids under consideration for its sale, has struggled to meet its financial responsibilities in recent months. The company reportedly owes approximately €120 million to various suppliers, including Gazprom, Botas and Eni, which it may not be able to pay.

Bloomberg reports that the company will meet with regulators today to discuss the possibility of acquiring a €300 million loan. An unnamed official from DEPA told Reuters news agency that the company was seeking a bailout from a number of sources, particularly Greek banks.

"DEPA is in negotiations with a consortium of Greek banks for a loan that will allow it to service its obligations for at least a month, until early July," the source said.

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's has in recent days lowered the rating of the Greek energy company, saying that it appeared to be out of time and luck to turn matters around.

"We believe the company has exhausted its liquidity sources and that its ability to honor its large financial obligations in 2012 mostly depends on external factors in the currently highly uncertain environment in Greece," the agency said.

Despite the uncertainty, one of DEPA's primary suppliers Eni has said that it is not concerned about the situation at the moment.

"The quantity of gas that we sell is limited and we have distribution companies in Greece," CEO of Eni Paolo Scaroni said. "We are monitoring the situation but I don't see anything particularly worrying for now."