A market test staged by gas grid operator DESFA for a prospective expansion of the country’s gas transmission network has delivered positive first signs, attracting, according to energypress sources, a satisfactory level of participants for its first round of non-binding bids.

The market test is being conducted with the aim of shaping a list of projects to cover existing and future needs of gas network users, as the system’s capacity at present is well below levels required by current demand.

The process will be used by DESFA to gauge the level of interest of international and domestic players for the development of projects facilitating greater gas transmission within and beyond Greece.

The first round of the market test ends tomorrow. Barring unexpected developments, an extension is not on the cards.

DESFA will then assess first-round bids submitted before launching a second round in September, a binding stage expected to last until the end of spring in 2024.

Market trends have indicated that, in the forthcoming years, the country’s gas transmission system will need to supply new residential areas (western Macedonia in the north as well as Greece’s west) and also serve new interconnections with neighboring countries (North Macedonia, Bulgaria and, via TAP, Albania and Italy.