Kavala underground gas storage tender later this year

A tender concerning the utilization of a depleted natural gas field in the offshore South Kavala region as an underground gas storage facility is expected to be launched by the privatization fund TAIPED towards the end of the year.

The privatization fund has informed the energy ministry on the progress of preparations, energypress sources informed.

A month ago, on July 12, TAIPED launched a tender seeking specialized preliminary services for the project.

The winning bidder of this initial procedure, expiring August 28, will need to prepare the technical details of the project’s eventual tender and offer consultancy to the privatization fund on the prospective underground gas storage facility’s feasibility and demands.

The recently appointed energy minister Costis Hatzidakis has made clear his intent to utilize the depleted natural gas field.

France’s Engie, GEK-Terna and Energean have formed a consortium, named Storengy, in anticipation of the project’s tender.

Greek gas grid operator DESFA is also believed to be eyeing the project, included in the EU’s list of PCI projects.

The project’s budget is estimated at between 300 and 400 million euros, while its storage capacity could end up being anywhere between 360 and 720 million cubic meters, as much as 10 percent of the country’s annual natural gas consumption.

The prospective underground gas storage facility is regarded as infrastructure that will complement – rather than compete against – the country’s existing LNG terminal on Revythoussa, an islet just off Athens, as well as a prospective FSRU in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, helping establish Greece as an energy hub.