Qatar Petroleum’s overseas investment arm, Qatar Petroleum International (QPI), has purchased 25% of the 435 mw Heron II combined cycle gas turbine power plant in Greece. The plant is jointly owned by Greece’s GEK Terna and France’s GDF Suez.

The purchase may be indicative of a possible shift in strategy for QP, which may opt to grow into an integrated oil and gas company internationally. If QP goes down the path of massive overseas investment, one option would be to move down the value chain from upstream oil and gas, LNG production and regas terminals to power generation. Indeed, Minister of Energy and Industry, Muhammad al-Sada, said recently that the stake in the Greek plant “marks special significance as it kicks off QPI's major efforts in terms of investment in the power sector in the next two years.” (CONTINUED - 369 WORDS)