Cenergy, a new Viohalko corporate group energy-sector company recently established through a merger deal involving Corinth Pipeworks and Hellenic Cables, faces the challenge of vying for and securing multi-million euro deals amid an extremely competitive environment that nevertheless offers considerable prospects.
The new company established by the merger is worth over 700 million euros in turnover and an operating profit of 63 million euros, based on financial data covering 2015.
The combined strength offered by this merger enables its participants to target major international energy-sector ventures being developed by energy giants. Companies of such stature demand top-grade financial guarantees, advanced technical knowhow and experience to entrust new suppliers.
Through their new partnership, Corinth Pipeworks and Hellenic Cables will be able to vie for larger projects which they would normally not be in a position to take on alone. Their access to better financing deals will also be made easier, while the partners stand as a more attractive and competitive business prospect for major international players.
The development prospects of international interconnection projects over the next few decades stood as a key incentive behind this merger decision. According to forecasts for 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 9 billion; electricity production will double; demand for interconnection projects in Europe will rise as a result of the region’s energy security policy; while renewable energy and natural gas demand will rise as a result of the international climate change agreement reached in Paris late last year.
Cenergy will focus on projects in Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa and North America. The new company is expected to bid on prospective natural gas projects such as the IGB, TANAP, Turkish Stream, Nord Stream 2, BRUA and Eastmed. In the electricity sector, projects being eyed by Cenergy include the Greek power grid operator IPTO’s interconnections for Crete and other Greek islands, North Sea interconnections, as well as network development in countries such as the Germany, Norway and the UK.
The two companies involved in the merger already employ 1,900 persons and are expected to hire more personnel.