Brussels, 06/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 5 November, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the planned acquisition of the Greek gas transport system DEFSA by the national petroleum company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR. The latter produces natural gas and sells gas wholesale on the upstream markets in Greece in the context of the Southern Gas Corridor. DEFSA owns and operates Greece's only high-pressure gas transmission and the country's only LNG terminal and mainly transports gas through its network. The Commission's initial market investigation indicated that the merged entity may have the ability and the incentive to hinder competing upstream gas supplies from accessing the Greek transmission system, in order to reduce competition on the upstream wholesale gas market in Greece. The Commission now has until 23 March 2015 to reach its decision. (EL)