LNG

Seatrium Group of Singapore, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, has made the successful delivery and hand-over of the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupoli” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

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.

Registro Italiano Navale (RINA), the Italian maritime classification society, and the Italian Asprofos oil and gas design consultancy, have been awarded a contract to help manage the deployment of a floating LNG terminal being developed in eastern Greece to supply the Balkans region.

RINA, based in the port of Genoa, and Greek consultancy Asprofos, have secured a contract to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System (INGS) venture, controlled by the Greek Company Gastrade SA.

Main shareholders in Alexandroupolis FLNG project include Gastrade Chairwoman Elmina Copelouzou, Greek shipping company GasLog, Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) and the Bulgarian gas company Bulgartransgaz.

The project is aimed at increasing security and diversification of gas supplies in the whole region of Southeast Europe.

It will consist of a permanently moored floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and a pipeline system of 28 kilometres connecting the floating unit to the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGTS).

The FSRU will be stationed in the north-eastern part of the Aegean Sea and about 17.6km from the costal Greek town of Alexandroupolis.

Vessel capacity

The GasLog vessel will have a storage capacity of 153,500 cubic metres, a nominal gas send out rate of 625,000 cubic metres per hour and a peak gas send-out rate of up to 944,000 m³ per hour.

A statement noted that the Alexandroupolis project is being financed through the joint venture’s own resources with co-financing from public funds, the National Bank of Greece and shareholder equity.

Public funds will be provided through the Greek Public Investment Programme, partly through national participation and partly through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

“This terminal is a fast-track project, with the FSRU scheduled to be online by the end of 2023,” said the contract winners.

“RINA and Asprofos will make sure that the contractual requirements of the project in terms of expected performance, quality, safety and planning are met,” they added.

“As well as supporting the owner on technical and managerial planning and oversight the two partners will act as an interface, through a multidisciplinary team of experts covering the different needs of the project,” they stated.

RINA view

Leonardo Brunori, Executive Vice President Energy at RINA, said the society was pleased to be involved in a project crucial to the security of European energy supplies.

“Recent events have highlighted the danger of relying on a single country for our energy needs. RINA has a long and proud track record of delivering FSRU and LNG projects globally having worked on over 200 in the last 15 years,” Brunori noted.

“We look forward to working together with Asprofos to deliver this strategically important terminal enabling Europe to further diversify access to energy,” he added.

Dionysios Belekoukias, Managing Director at Asprofos, said his firm was glad to be working with RINA on such an important project.

“We were awarded the contract because of our combined strong technical competencies. Over the last 35 years Asprofos has gained extensive experience in the natural gas sector having been involved in all phases of the majority of the National Natural Gas System of Greece, including the LNG Terminal in Revithoussa,” explained Belekoukias.

“We have also been actively involved in most of the natural gas projects which have been implemented or are under development in Greece such as Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the IGI Poseidon Pipeline, the East Med Pipeline, covering engineering, environmental, permitting, project management, construction management and supervision services,” he added.

Greece, the leading nation in liquefied natural gas shipping, has held a ceremony attended by the Greek and Bulgarian prime ministers marking the advancement of the Alexandroupolis floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and revealing that a second FSRU was planned.

Gastrade SA, the Greek company developing an offshore LNG import terminal to serve eastern Greece and the Balkan nations, said a positive final investment decision has been taken to proceed with the joint venture.

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.