LNG

Keppel Shipyard in Singapore has started work on the conventional LNG carrier “GasLog Chelsea” to convert the vessel to a floating storage and regasification unit to be deployment as an import terminal in eastern Greece to supply the Balkans region.

The FSRU will be stationed in the north-eastern part of the Aegean Sea and about 17.6 kilometres (11 miles) from the costal Greek town of Alexandroupolis.

The vessel is being renamed “FSRU Alexandroupoli” and will serve as an offshore storage and import facility.

The “FSRU Alexandroupoli” will be linked to a pipeline system of 28km connecting the floating unit to the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGTS).

The ship of 155,000 cubic metres capacity was also recently reflagged to the Greek flag.

The project’s owner, Gastrade, leads a consortium of key players in the wider region’s energy market. The group includes Mrs Elmina Copelouzou, the shipping line GasLog, the Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEFSA), the affiliated Greek company DEPA Commercial, the Hellenic Natural Gas Transmission System Operator and Bulgartransgaz, the Bulgarian natural gas transmission and storage system operator.

Ship for its time

“GasLog believed in the ‘FSRU Alexandroupoli’ endeavor from the very beginning and at a time when energy security in Europe was taken for granted,” said Kostas Karathanos GasLog’s Chief Operating Officer.

“We worked patiently and diligently to reach this stage and we are extremely proud to soon offer the first ever FSRU in Greek waters,” added Karathanos

“Through GasLog’s renowned high standards of safety and reliability, the ‘FSRU Alexandroupolis’ will offer energy diversification and security to the wider region and establish GasLog as an integrated provider of natural gas solutions,” he stated.

GasLog is being backed in the conversion process by the leading European classification society DNV.

Martin Cartwright, Business Director DNV Maritime’s Gas Carriers and FSRUs division, said the project was moving forward as a result of “an exceptional collaborative” effort.

Ninth FSRU

“This will be our record 9th FSRU conversion project as a classification society and we take great pride in being entrusted with supporting this initiative,” explained Cartwright.

“By choosing DNV and our pioneering REGAS (ES) and ASP notations, the consortium demonstrates that they are focused on delivering an installation that meets the most innovative and rigorous standards in the industry,” he stated.

The investors noted that the “FSRU Alexandroupoli” vessel and the project aim to add a new gateway for natural gas in the Greek and wider Balkan region, improving the region's energy mix and diversifying energy sources to enhance security.

A Greek joint venture has held a ceremony for the construction of a gas-fired power plant that will help underpin the LNG floating storage and regasification (FSRU) project at the eastern Greek port of Alexandroupolis.

The Alexandroupolis Power Plant is being built by a consortium of Greece’s three major energy groups, PPC, DEPA (the Public Gas Corporation of Greece ) and Damco Energy, a unit of the Copelouzos Group.

The launch ceremony for the power project was attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as well as others involved in supporting the Greek and Balkans region project, including representatives of the Bulgarian and US governments.

The power plant will be directly connected to the FSRU import project led by Greek company Gastrade and with the vessel being provided by one of the world’s leading LNG carrier companies GasLog.

“Alexandroupolis is turning into an energy junction of electricity and natural gas networks, with the potential of supplying the domestic market and neighbouring countries in Southeast Europe,” said a statement.

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

Aegean location

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

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

The new power plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. It will be a combined-cycle facility with installed capacity of 840 megawatts, which is approximately the net capacity of three coal-fired plants currently being decommissioned.

“We are here to welcome a project that is changing the energy landscape and Greece is now shielded,” said Christos Copelouzos, Chief Executive of the Copelouzos Group.

“At the same time, a new energy pillar is being created for Southeast Europe, as our country will be able to export electricity to the neighbouring Balkan states, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and even Serbia,” he added.

“As a Group, we chose the location of the plant here in Alexandroupolis. After all, for years we have been paying special attention to the wider Evros region, fully acknowledging its important geostrategic position,” explained the CEO.

“We are creating infrastructure, which, together with other projects under implementation in the region, such as the FSRU Alexandroupolis, will generate opportunities for the development of the local economy and many new and permanent jobs,” he stated.

“With confidence in Greece and its people, we at Copelouzos Group will continue to develop projects of ‘national identity’. These include investments that are being thoroughly prepared, such as the electrical interconnection between Greece and Egypt and offshore wind farms,” he concluded.

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.

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.