Gazprom and SOCAR bidding for DEPA

Russian energy companies Gazprom and Sintez and Azerbaijan's state-owned SOCAR are the main bidders for Greek gas company Depa, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday, the Moscow Times cites Reuters.

Greece hopes to sell all of the company by the first quarter of 2013, the sources said.

The deal could help the nearly-bankrupt country raise up to 1 billion euros ($1.28 billion). Greece holds 65 percent of Depa, and the remainder is owned by Hellenic Petroleum.

Of the sales of state assets under way in Greece, Depa's is one of the most advanced, alongside gambling company OPAP and prime real estate projects.

If completed early next year, the sales could put Athens on the way toward chipping away at a debt load expected to peak at 190 percent of gross domestic product in 2016.