LNG

Greek liquefied natural gas project leader Gastrade has said that delays were being experienced for the start-up of Greece’s Alexandroupolis floating LNG import hub to supply Balkan gas grids.

A cooperation agreement has been signed between key natural gas infrastructure owners from Greece, the Balkans and Central Europe including Gastrade, developer of the Alexandroupolis floating LNG import terminal for Greece and the Balkans.

Serbia, the Balkan state that was part of the former Yugoslavia and has been a candidate nation for 10 years to be a member of the European Union, has completed an interconnector pipeline to Bulgaria giving the Serbs supply options of regasified LNG from Greece or pipeline gas from Azerbaijan to replace Russian supplies.

Svitzer, a subsidiary of the Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk and a leading provider of towage, has signed a 15-year agreement to service Gastrade’s Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System LNG terminal offshore the northeast coast of Greece.

Gastrade SA, the Greek company developing an offshore LNG import terminal to serve eastern Greece and the Balkan nations, has ratified an agreement with the Greek national gas grid operator DESFA taking a 20 percent stake in the project.

The final share transfer agreement was signed in Athens by the founding shareholder and Gastrade Board Chairwoman Elmina Copelouzou and the Chief Executive of DESFA, Maria Rita Galli.

The floating LNG terminal off the port city of Alexandroupolis is expected to be operational by early 2023.

The progress on the project came after the recent approval by the European Commission, based on the European Union merger regulations, for the acquisition of joint control of Gastrade and the Bulgarian gas grid company Bulgartransgaz.

“The construction of the Alexandroupolis terminal will actively contribute to the country's energy security, liquidity and efficiency and will strengthen Greece's strategic role in Southeast Europe, offering opportunities for new natural gas exports to the region,” said a joint statement.

“This is a crucial European project of common interest, a priority for the EU as it strengthens security and diversifies the sources and routes of energy supply,” the statement explained

“In addition, the project promotes competition among gas suppliers and supports the creation of a transaction hub in the wider region of Southeast Europe, leading to lower prices that will benefit all end-users,” it added.

Balkan benefits

The FSRU will be connected to the National Natural Gas Transmission System of Greece with a 28-kilometres pipeline, through which the regasified LNG will be offered to the markets of Greece, Bulgaria and the wider region, including Romania, Serbia and Νorth Macedonia, as well as Moldova and Ukraine.

“Another important step for the emergence of Greece and especially of Alexandroupolis as an energy hub for the Balkans and Europe has been made,” declared Gastrade’s Copelouzou.

“We welcome DESFA to Gastrade, being convinced that with our full shareholder structure, the project in Alexandroupolis will play a leading role in the green transition of European networks, while strengthening the security of energy supply for the benefit of national economies and citizens,” she stated.

DESFA CEO Galli said that under the agreement the Greek national gas company had become a Gastrade shareholder.

“The project will contribute significantly to energy security and to the upgrading of Greece's role in regional energy developments,” stated Galli.

“DESFA's long experience in the management of the LNG terminal of Revithoussa makes it a valuable partner with valuable know-how,” she added.

The Gastrade-led project will be based on a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with LNG storage capacity of 170,000 cubic metres and a natural gas supply capacity that will exceed 5.5 billion cubic metres per annum.

Greece’s Copelouzos Group has signed contracts for the implementation of a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant planned for the eastern Greek port of Alexandroupolis where an offshore LNG import terminal is planned.

Copelouzos said the contracts were for the supply and the long-term maintenance of the main equipment for the 840-megawatts facility being developed along with Greece’s Damco Energy SA and General Electric of the US.

The floating LNG terminal is a separate project from the onshore power plant and is being developed by Greek company Gastrade.

The Alexandroupolis LNG floating storage and regasification unit will have storage capacity of 170,000 cubic metres and regasification capacity of at least 5.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas per annum.

The FSRU will be moored in an offshore area about 17.6 kilometres southwest of the port of Alexandroupolis.

The floating unit will be connected to the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission grid through a pipeline system of a total length of 28km.

Copelouzos said that for its power plant project the company subsidiary Ilektroparagogi Alexandroupolis SA will be responsible for the implementation of the investment and construction will start before the end of 2021 and be completed by the spring of 2024.

Copelouzos added that the building of the gas-fired plant would strengthen the local economy as well as when operation start.

“During the construction 600 people are going to be employed, while it is estimated that 90 permanent job positions will be created during the whole lifetime of the project,” explained Copelouzos.

“In addition, and in conjunction the other projects of the Copelouzos Group, the unit will make the area of Alexandroupolis an energy hub, a fact that will attract further investments and result in economic growth and prosperity of the greater area,” it stated.

Greek company Gastrade, the lead developer of a joint venture floating LNG terminal offshore Greece’s northeast port of Alexandroupolis to serve the Balkans, has signed accords with two utilities in North Macedonia, a part of the former Yugoslavia until 1991 when it became an independent state.

The natural gas transmission network of Bulgaria has completed its share participation transaction in the Alexandroupolis floating LNG import terminal proposed to supply the Balkans region with regasified volumes from offshore northeast Greece.

The Balkan state and European Union member Croatia duly became the latest LNG importing nation at the start of January with a shipment from the US, while Balkan neighbour and aspirant EU country Serbia started up its new Russian natural gas pipeline route from Gazprom on January 1.

Gastrade SA, the Greek company developing an offshore LNG import terminal to serve Balkan nations, has signed an agreement for the acquisition of 20 percent of its share capital by Greece’s natural gas grid operator DESFA.