A tender held by DESFA, Greece’s natural gas grid operator, for the industrial design of an LNG truck loading facility, the company’s first, to be used for loading and supply to major-scale consumers, mostly industrial plants, located in areas not covered by exisiting natural gas distribution networks, has been completed.

According to energypress sources, an experienced company has been awarded the project’s industrial design.

Industrial consumers have already expressed interest in the project, a state-of-the-art station that has been included in DESFA’s ten-year development program for 2015 to 2024, and scheduled to be launched in 2016.

Based on the industrial sector’s interest in the prospect of LNG supply, DESFA estimates demand via the truck-loading station will reach five billion cubic meters, annually, by 2020.

Investement costs for facilities required by LNG recepients have dropped considerably, while LNG is an environmentally friendly energy source, making it a favorable option.

Besides the truck-loading facility, DESFA is also examining other projects that would promote LNG use, including in the shipping and auto sectors; at power stations on islands, which would be supplied LNG via submarine channels, allowing for switches from petrol to LNG; and coastal distribution centers.

Judging by international trends, new forms of LNG use are expected to increase in the near future. Related EU policies have been approved and will be launched in 2025.

DESFA plans to conduct a cost study for the development of an LNG loading station for small-sized vessels at Revythoussa, an islet in the Saronic Gulf, close to Athens, where the operator maintains LNG terminal facilities, as well as for the development of other small-scale coastal LNG storage facilities and loading systems. These plans are still at a very early stage.