Gas grid operator DESFA will not make use of an option to extend its expiring one-year lease agreement for an additional floating storage unit installed at the operator’s LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa last summer as an energy security measure, the operator’s head official has informed.

“We have already agreed with RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, that it [agreement] will not be renewed and the tanker will be released as it was a temporary solution that served the need to maintain strategic LNG stocks for power generators during the winter period,” Maria Rita Galli, CEO at DESFA, told Greek daily business newspaper Nafteboriki.

The current one-year FSU agreement, worth 20 million euros, expires in June. It ended up being a high-cost solution for DESFA as a result of the mild winter conditions as well as LNG quantity loss resulting from evaporation issues at the upper level of the FSU, a situation that could have been greatly restricted had a decision been reached to connect this unit to the Revythoussa terminal for direct transmission into the grid.

DESFA is believed to be examining the prospect of renting a new tanker for a shorter duration of five months, which would entail far lower cost, energypress sources have informed. If so, DESFA is expected to stage a tender within the upcoming summer for a new LNG tanker lease agreement.

Market officials anticipate the installation of a replacement LNG tanker will probably be needed to cover natural gas storage needs ahead of next winter.

The additional FSU currently in use increased the Revythoussa LNG terminal’s capacity by 70 percent, to approximately 370,000 cubic meters.