Enemalta allegations 'not connected to' government decision to not opt for gas pipeline – Fenech

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech insisted that Maltatoday's revelations regarding kickbacks between Enemalta and Trafigura "is surely not connected" with government's decision to not opt for the gas pipline proposal it had before it in 2004.

Fenech was speaking during a political debate aired on Close Up on TVM on Monday evening, hosted by presenter Pierre Portelli.

He was reacting to revelations by Maltatoday on Sunday that Frank Sammut, former chief executive of the MOBC, received a consultancy fee by commodities supplier Trafigura for oil consignments to Enemalta, paid through a Swiss bank account whose beneficiary was a Gibraltar company he owned.

Reacting to the allegations, Fenech said that the fuel purchasing system works in a manner whereby the committee responsible for the purchasing, composed of 10 people, receives the tenders from fuel suppliers in a sealed envelope.

He said that the tenders would then be reviewed in front all involved, and the cheapest option chosen.

Fenech also explained that Malta buys 60,000 tonnes of fuel in each purchase, which lasts for between two to three months. "That is why our current tender expires in March," Fenech said.

He also insisted that the tender includes a premium in the price because since the new Delimara power station extension came into the picture, Malta started buying Sulphur 0.75 fuel, which he said is the cleanest fuel oil there is.

"Our specifications are so clean that not everyone in the Mediterranean supplies this fuel," he said, insisting that the premium is included in the tender price to reflect this fact.

"It has nothing to do with commission," Fenech insisted. He also confirmed that a police investigation has started and is on going.

Fenech also insisted that the government's decision to not take up a proposal for the construction of a gas pipeline that would be financed by Italian energy giant Eni was "surely not connected" to the Enemalta/Trafigura kickbacks allegations.

While dismissing Enemalta manager John Pace's revelations regarding the negotiations that were on going between government and Eni in 2004, Fenech insisted that the project was not viable.

"According to Eni's proposal, it is clear that while they would have built the pipeline, we would have been the ones to pay for it through their tariffs. Nothing comes for free," Fnech said.

He added that when the project was costed, "even Eni itself was seeing that it was not viable."

He also said that the gas pipeline would have resulted in a gas supply that would have exceeded Malta's consumption.

"We envisaged that the agreement was not practical," Fenech said, insisting that the Enemalta/Trafigura allegations "had nothing to do with government's decision."

Fenech appeared alongside Labour economist and candidate Edward Scicluna, and AD chairperson Michael Briguglio.