French gas and power utility GDF Suez has sold 10% of its 45% stake in Sohar Power Company SAOG, a Oman-based Sohar Power Company, to an investment holding company of Mena Infrastructure Fund LP.

Sohar Power Company is the owner of Sohar 1, a 585MW power generation and 150,000 cubic metre/day seawater desalination plantin the Sohar Industrial Port area of the Sultanate of Oman.

After the transaction, GDF Suez will continue to remain the largest shareholder with 35 per cent of the shares held by its fully owned subsidiary Kahrabel FZE.

Mena Infrastructure has also acquired an additional 10% stake, through purchase of 5% shares that each of WJ Towell & Co LLC and Zubair Corporation LLC.

GDF Suez has interests in five other assets beside Sohar 1: Barka 2, a power and water production plant, and four power production plants: Al Rusayl, Al Kamil, Barka 3 and Sohar 2. The last two achieved full commercial operation beginning on April 2013, adding another 1,500 MW of power to the Sultanate's end 2012 capacity of circa 4,500 MW.

Shankar Krishnamoorthy, president and CEO of GDF SUEZ South Asia, Middle East & Africa, stated:

Next year, we will launch the IPOs of Al Suwadi and Al Batinah Power to dilute our share in Barka 3 and Sohar 2. We want GDF SUEZ to remain a partner of choice to help the Government of Oman develop its long-term strategy with regards to energy security.