DESFA boss resigns, troubled Socar deal a contributing factor

Konstantinos Xifaras, managing director at DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, has resigned from his post after discussing the prospect with the leadership at the energy ministry, according to sources.

The ministry’s top-ranked officials believe Xifaras’s leadership at DESFA no longer facilitates the operator’s smooth functioning, nor is it constructive in the effort for an agreement with Azerbaijani energy company Socar to complete the operator’s pending privatization.

Xifaras appears to have also unsuccessfully submitted his resignation to the energy ministry in the past.

The operator’s current president Sotiris Nikas may also take on the managing director’s role.

Although DESFA is an independent subsidiary of DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, and a certified operator of the country’s natural gas grid, specific supervisory council procedures in line with the corporation’s regulations will be carried out for the DESFA official’s resignation and replacement.