EU support sought for half of Vertical Corridor’s €450m budgeted cost

The Vertical Corridor, a European gas-pipeline system now planned to involve TSOs of seven countries – Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine – will require an estimated 450 million euros in investments, energypress sources have noted.

Greek gas grid operator DESFA’s share of this sum will be minimal as a compressor station at Komotini, northeastern Greece, is all it will need to contribute to the project. All other upgrades to Greece’s gas grid, which, once completed, would enable the country to serve as a Vertical Corridor entry point, are already under development.

Officials of the six other countries participating in the project through initiatives taken by local TSOs believe that 50 percent of the project’s budgeted cost would need to be covered by EU funds if Vertical Corridor is to be materialized.

Project participants will push for political commitment from the European Commission by March as the upcoming European elections and any leadership changes would result in delays.

This issue was raised during a two-day ministerial conference staged by the Central and South-Eastern European Gas Connectivity Group (CESEC) in Athens last week, a gathering attended by European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, but no indications of Brussels’ stance were offered.

Vertical Corridor project members are now expected to intensify their call to the European Commission for political support regarding the project’s development.

Following an initiative taken by Slovakia, an MoU was signed at the CESEC meeting in Athens to bring Moldova and Ukraine into the Vertical Corridor project.

Besides TSOs from the seven participating countries, Gastrade, a consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the imminent Alexandroupoli FSRU at Greece’s northeastern port of Alexandroupoli, and ICGB, the consortium behind the Greek-Bulgarian IGB gas pipeline, are also involved in the Vertical Corridor initiative.

Vertical Corridor meeting to gather project participants

Pivotal European energy infrastructure projects such as a vertical gas corridor, crucial for decoupling the region from Russian gas, an initiative which Ukraine and Moldova will officially join; a Greek-Cypriot-Israeli electrical grid interconnection; as well as hydrogen-related plans, will all be tabled for discussion at a meeting in Athens today between the energy ministers of southeast Europe.

Participants at the CESEC (Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity) meeting will be focusing on the most mature cross-border and trans-European gas and electricity projects that promise to enhance southeast Europe’s energy autonomy and upgrade its geopolitical importance.

Important remaining priorities concerning the vertical corridor include completion of its  Bulgaria-Romania pipeline segment; and to officially bring Ukraine and Moldova into the project’s picture. As part of the process, Greek gas grid operator DESFA is today expected to sign an MoU will all TSOs involved.

The vertical corridor includes a 182-km Greek-Bulgarian pipeline, the Bulgarian-Romanian section, and its interconnection with the network on the border with Ukraine and Moldova.

This corridor, combined with the imminent launch of the 5.5-bcm capacity Alexandroupoli FSRU, in Greece’s northeast, is expected to accelerate Europe’s effort to decouple the continent’s southeast from Russian energy dependence.

 

Alexandroupoli FSRU, arriving 1Q, to offer 45,000 MWh daily

The Alexandroupoli FSRU, scheduled for launch at the country’s northeastern port in the first quarter, is planned to start operating by supplying roughly 45,000 MWh of natural gas into the Greek network daily, a major sufficiency boost for the domestic system.

The facility, set for launch by March 10, will initially offer an annual capacity of 1.5 bcm, or 27 percent of its annual capacity, to the Greek system. A further 4 bcm quantity will be supplied to the Bulgarian network via the IGB grid interconnection, and, by extension, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, and in any markets where traders that have signed contracts with Gastrade, the project’s consortium, have customers.

An initial LNG load, to be used for testing, is scheduled to reach the Alexandroupoli LNG on January 20. It will not stem from Russia as the project is designed to contribute to ending southeast Europe’s reliance on Russian gas.

The testing stage will entail filling a 28-kilometer gas pipeline, running mostly underwater, that connects the terminal with the Greek gas system, in order to check all systems and correct any minor issues so that the FSRU can be ready to operate commercially after six to seven weeks, or early March.

The FSRU, comprised of a floating storage unit with a capacity of 153,500 m3 and three gasification units, offering daily gasification capacity of approximately 22.5 million m3, is a project of national significance that reinforces Greece’s role as an energy gateway to the markets of the wider region.

 

Gastrade Alexandroupoli FSRU anchors for testing, launch

The Alexandroupoli FSRU, a floating natural gas liquefaction and storage unit to be installed at the country’s northeastern port of Alexandroupoli by Gastrade, a consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the project’s development and operation, has just entered the Thracian Sea and anchored after setting sail November 26 from Singapore’s Seatrium shipyard, where the unit was developed over a period of nearly ten months.

The FSRU’s arrival to its permanent anchorage marks the completion of a project of major importance for the national and local economies.

In the coming days, the FSRU will be moored through a twelve-point mooring system before being connected to a high-pressure subsea and onshore gas transmission pipeline, which, once operational, will deliver gas to the Greek gas network and, subsequently, consumers in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia.

The FSRU’s commercial launch is planned for the first quarter of 2024, once testing has been completed. The unit will offer a 5.5-bcm annual liquefaction capacity.

 

DESFA slot auction for 2024 successful, premia levels drop

Gas grid operator DESFA auctions staged last week for LNG cargo slots in 2024 proved successful, as had been anticipated. Just five of a total of 45 slots were available as 40 slots had already been reserved by bidders during a previous round.

This year, DESFA is, for the first time, staging LNG slot reservation auctions offering capacities for the next 15 years, from 2024 to 2038, triple the five-year extent offered up until last year.

Slot commitment by bidders beyond five years constitutes a significant qualitative leap for both the natural gas market and gas infrastructure as, on the one hand, long-term capacity agreements are bolstered, and on the other, infrastructure development visibility is improved through the expression of definite interest, market officials noted.

Latest auction premia have fallen to much lower levels, compared to last year, a development attributed to two key factors, reduced gas demand and the forthcoming launch of the Alexandroupoli LNG facility in Greece’s northeast, DESFA sources noted.

Reduced gas demand and the imminent launch of the new Alexandroupoli LNG facility, along with other gas-sector infrastructure, has led to a better supply-demand balance in terms of capacity commitment at the Revythoussa terminal – Greece’s only LNG unit at present – and  prevented conditions for high premiums, as was the case last year.

Heightened gas demand last year pushed slot prices well above auction starting prices. As a result, premia, or windfall earnings, generated at the Revythoussa slot auctions and the Greek gas grid’s other entry and exit points reached 65 million euros.

DESFA’s windfall earnings, according to domestic gas market regulations, need to be utilized to benefit grid users. The 65 million-euro amount accumulated last year will go towards supporting the country’s latest supply security effort, as part of a 160 million-euro preventive action plan.

This initiative will lessen, by 65 million euros, the supply security effort’s collection target through various surcharges on consumer bills.

DEPA Commercial privatization plan postponed until 2024-25

Gas company DEPA Commercial’s privatization plan has been postponed until its business plan, which includes an expansion strategy, begin reaping rewards, effectively meaning that no further steps concerning the company’s sale should be  expected before late 2024 or early 2025, Greek privatization fund TAIPED appears to have decided.

Besides taking into consideration the potential of a bigger and broader business plan, TAIPED is also weighing in the impact on its plan to sell its 65 percent stake of DEPA Commercial of a long-running legal dispute between the company and fertilizer industry ELFE. The former is seeking unpaid amounts and the latter claims it has been overcharged for gas supply.

This dispute appears set to enter yet another chapter that is most likely to add between one and two years of legal battle following a decision by the Council of State, Greece’s Supreme Administrative Court, to revert the case to an Athens Appeals Court for retrial.

DEPA Commercial’s expansion policy, which includes a 20 percent stake in the prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU in northeastern Greece as well as electricity production in the same region, promises to greatly broaden its business interests, until recently focused on gas trading activity.

TAIPED’s sale of its 65 percent stake in DEPA Commercial at this stage would deprive the Greek State of benefits in the making, industry experts have noted.

TAIPED has reportedly commissioned Piraeus Bank to reevaluate DEPA Commercial’s broadened business plan and determine when, and to what extent, it should begin maturing and generating added value.

Revythoussa LNG terminal still vital despite lessened activity

Capacity increases at the TAP pipeline, facilitating the delivery of Caspian gas to destinations in Europe, and the IGB gas pipeline linking Greece and Bulgaria, plus the scheduled launch, early in 2024, of the Alexandroupoli FSRU at the country’s northeastern port, will lessen the number of LNG tankers delivering quantities to the Revythoussa LNG terminal, just off Athens, for eventual distribution to the Bulgarian market, but the terminal remains vital for Greece’s energy security and supply.

In addition, an agreement signed last January by Turkey and Bulgaria’s respective state-owned energy companies, Botas and Bulgargaz, for Turkish supply to Bulgaria of 1.5 bcm of natural gas, annually, over a 13-year period, also promises to further decongest activity at the Revythoussa LNG terminal.

The Bulgarian-Turkish agreement had prompted a number of questions in the domestic and European markets regarding its terms and conditions, as well as its impact on Greece’s gas infrastructure.

However, as was recently highlighted by Sotiris Bravos, Senior Commercial Services Manager at DESFA, Greece’s gas grid operator, the Revythoussa LNG terminal’s commercial role will only be limited in trade concerning the Bulgarian market.

In 2022, the Revythoussa LNG terminal covered two-thirds of Bulgaria’s natural gas needs, a performance not expected to be repeated this year given the increased number of facilities – TAP, IGB, and, slightly later on, the Alexandroupoli FSRU – serving the Bulgarian market.

Even so, the Revythoussa LNG terminal remains a crucial part of the country’s gas grid, especially regarding supply security and the grid’s balance, Bravos, the DESFA official, noted.

At present, the Revythoussa LNG terminal is Greece’s only LNG entry point and one of the country’s four natural gas entry points.

DESFA’s administration believes new gas infrastructure will not compete against the Revythoussa LNG terminal as it remains a facility of major importance for the Greek gas grid and the significantly increased needs of central Europe.

Alexandroupoli FSRU on track for early-2024 launch

Development of the Alexandroupoli FSRU at the country’s northeastern port is progressing steadily and set for an on-schedule launch by the end of January, 2024, energypress sources have informed.

Tanker conversion work being conducted for the FSRU at Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard was 87.1 percent ready at the end of August, meaning all basic equipment, including burners and gasifiers, has been installed, the sources added.

Representatives of Gastrade, the consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, visited the Keppel Shipyard just days ago.  The consortium’s chief executive, Kostis Sifneos, headed the visiting group.

The consortium’s members – the Copelouzos group’s Elmina Copelouzou, Gaslog Cyprus Investments Ltd, DEPA Commercial, Bulgartransgaz and Greek gas grid operator DESFA, all holding 20 percent shares – plan to soon hold a meeting to discuss the project’s steps leading to its launch, the sources added.

The FSRU vessel is expected to be ready to set sail for Alexandroupoli in mid-November, before reaching its destination in early December.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU, to offer a 153,500-m3 LNG capacity, will be connected to Greece’s gas network via a 28-km pipeline, through which gasified LNG will be distributed to the domestic market, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine.

The project will serve as a new energy gateway promising to play a key role in the energy security and independence of Greece as well as central and southeast Europe.

Major grid capacity reservation interest expressed at DESFA auctions

Gas grid operator DESFA’s auctions offering grid capacity reservations, held last week, have confirmed an increase in interest from Greek and foreign companies, energypress sources have informed.

Capacity reservations for the Greek gas grid’s Sidirokastro exit point and Nea Mesimvria entry point – both are in the north – reached 98.5 percent and 100 percent, respectively.

The Nea Mesimvria entry point, it should be noted, is the interconnection point linking the country’s gas grid with the TAP pipeline for import of Azeri natural gas.

An auction is still in progress for the Greek grid’s Amfitriti entry point, in the northeast. Five rounds of auctions are being held daily, in accordance with EU rules. This ongoing procedure, sources noted, comes as confirmation of the heightened interest of users for this specific entry point.

The Amfitriti entry point is planned to receive natural gas from the prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU for transmission into the Greek grid before gas quantities are redirected north of the border, via the Greek-Bulgarian IGB pipeline.

Participants at DESFA’s auctions last week showed minimal interest for long-term grid capacity reservations. DESFA launched 15-year offers at these auctions. Most system users focused on agreements for the next gas year, covering October 1, 2023 to September 29, 2024.

Alexandroupoli FSRU pipeline work in progress, tanker to arrive November

Development work for the Alexandroupoli FSRU at the country’s northeastern port is in full progress on all fronts, in preparation for the project’s launch early next year.

Besides the project’s floating LNG storage and regasification infrastructure, work is also in progress on the offshore and onshore pipelines to transmit gas to the national grid and, from there, the Greek-Bulgarian IGB pipeline connection for gas quantities to the Balkans.

Officials at Gastrade, the consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, offered an on-site presentation of the FSRU’s work in progress to visiting ambassadors. This mission was organized by George Tsounis, the US ambassador to Greece, and included the ambassadors of Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine.

The FSRU’s subsea pipelines, to measure 24 km, and overland pipelines, measuring a further 4 km, have been delivered to the Alexandroupoli port for installation.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU promises to serve as an additional source of gas supply for Greece and other Balkan countries. Quantities will be transmitted through the IGB for delivery to Bulgaria and, by extension, Romania.

The project’s specially equipped floating tanker is expected to arrive at its Alexandroupoli location in late November, while the FSRU facility should start operating early in 2024.

Gastrade has already been granted a further license for an additional FSRU, intended to serve Moldova and Ukraine, if the results of a related market test indicate that such an additional project would be viable.

It remains unknown when Gastrade could make an investment decision on this additional FSRU.

 

DEPA Commercial, Moldova’s Energocom nearing gas deal

Greek gas company DEPA Commercial is close to establishing a gas supply deal with Moldovan state gas and electricity supplier Energocom, sources have informed, noting the two sides are currently discussing gas quantities and prices for what could be a long-term agreement.

Both Energocom and Moldova, as a whole, are looking for alternative energy sources as the Balkan country, neighboring Ukraine, seeks to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

Kostas Xifaras, chief executive at DEPA Commercial and Energom’s general director Victor Binzari have held talks as part of an official visit to Athens by the leadership of Moldova’s energy ministry.

Greek energy minister Kostas Skrekas, who met with his Moldovan counterpart, Victor Parlikov, during this visit, released an announcement about the prospective supply deal.

DEPA Commercial gas quantities would reach Moldova through an eastern corridor, or network of gas pipeline interconnections linking Greece with Bulgaria (IGB), Bulgaria with Romania, and Romania with Moldova.

DEPA Commercial is also looking to broaden its gas trading activities with other Balkan countries ahead of the arrival of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, a floating LNG terminal now being developed in Greece’s northeast.

DEPA Commercial is a member of the five-member Gastrade consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU.

Greek-US energy agenda focused on 3 projects

Three energy infrastructure projects, the Alexandroupoli FSRU in Greece’s northeast, an oil pipeline running from the Alexandroupoli port to Burgas, on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, and a Greek-Egyptian grid interconnection, were focal points in talks yesterday between Greek and American officials, as part of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s official visit to Athens.

The two sides, meeting for the 4th round of a Greece-US Strategic Dialogue, appeared determined to push ahead with the three projects, propelled by Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has prompted Europe to move in a direction ending its reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

It was agreed that Athens and investors need to accelerate efforts for the aforementioned projects to further marginalize Russian energy supply to Europe.

Besides offering full support for the three energy infrastructure projects, US officials also expressed satisfaction about the recent launch of the Greek-Bulgarian IGB gas pipeline as well as ongoing plans for a pipeline to run from Greece to North Macedonia.

However, the US officials kept a distance from the discovery of gas deposits by Israel, Cyprus and Egypt in the east Mediterranean, as well as the East Med gas pipeline plan – which would connect Israel, Cyprus and Greece before crossing to Italy visa the Poseidon pipeline – presumably to avoid upsetting Turkey, despite problems that have weighed down US-Turkish ties of late.

 

Officials fear local infrastructure impact of Turkish-Bulgarian gas deal

A Turkish-Bulgarian gas supply agreement reached last month is troubling Greece’s energy players at institutional and market levels as its impact could affect the role of Greek infrastructure, officials have told energypress.

Local officials are mostly concerned about the deal’s gas supply quantity eventually growing in size rather than the small gas quantities it currently involves, as they only cover a small percentage of Bulgaria’s gas needs.

The majority of Bulgaria’s gas needs are still planned to be covered by LNG shipments coming in through the LNG terminal at Revythoussa, close to Athens, while the prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU in Greece’s northeast will, no doubt, contribute to cover Bulgarian gas demand, once the project is launched.

Turkey and Bulgaria, represented by their respective state energy companies, Botas and Bulgargaz, signed a 13-year gas supply agreement on January 3, according to which Turkey is required to supply Bulgaria an annual gas quantity of 1.5 bcm.

EFET, the European Federation of Energy Traders, wants the Turkish-Bulgarian agreement investigated by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy and Directorate-General for Competition, contending European regulations and the overall institutional framework defining the operation of gas infrastructure within the EU and access to interconnection points have been breached.

PPC, DEPA, Copelouzos confirm Alexandroupoli power station plan

Power utility PPC, gas company DEPA Commercial and the Copelouzos group have finalized an investment decision for the development of an 840-MW natural gas-fueled power station in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, a project budgeted at a total of 480 million euros, including supporting projects.

The project was officially approved yesterday at a shareholders’ meeting staged by Ilektroparagogi Alexandroupolis, the consortium formed by the three project partners for this venture.

PPC holds a 51 percent stake in Ilektroparagogi Alexandroupolis, DEPA Commercial has a 29 percent stake and the Copelouzos group is involved with a 20 percent stake.

The three partners behind the 480 million-euro project are believed to have already secured financing from the National Bank of Greece. They plan to begin construction imminently and have completed the Alexandroupoli project by 2025.

The Alexandroupoli power station is expected to feature the lowest variable cost among all natural gas-fueled power stations operating on Greece, meaning it will hold priority status for wholesale market entry.

Its location will enable the facility to be supplied gas directly via the Alexandroupoli FSRU, now being developed by Gastrade, a consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the floating LNG terminal.

The Alexandroupoli power plant will be equipped to also burn hydrogen in a mixture of up to 50 percent.

 

 

Alexandroupoli infrastructure offering regional gas-hub potential

Gas infrastructure being planned and developed at Alexandroupoli, on the edge of northeastern Greece, offers potential to establish this provincial city as a regional gas hub in southeast Europe that will facilitate gas trade and shape regional gas prices.

Gas quantities of between 20 and 30 bcm are expected to be attracted to the region by FSRUs, gas pipelines and a vertical pipeline corridor, covering the wider region.

However, the effort to establish a gas hub in this specific region faces many challenges. Besides bringing in large gas quantities and offering competitive prices as well as high liquidity, all needed to lure players from other hubs and neighboring markets, the region also requires a major reinforcement of the transport system, along with a significant increase in the capacity of the recently launched Greek-Bulgarian IGB gas pipeline.

The absence of a gas hub in southeast Europe and the prospective accumulation of quantities up to 30 bcm in Alexandroupoli offers great potential for the provincial Greek city, as was pointed out by a leading energy ministry official during last weekend’s launch of a new power station in the area.

Attracting significant gas quantities to the location is a first step. It must be followed up by the establishment of a gas spot market in Greece, one capable of increasing interconnectivity in the southeast European market.

Greece promises to serve as an entry point for the aforementioned natural gas vertical corridor, to run through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine and Moldova.

This project, to utilize existing infrastructure combined with new infrastructure, will incorporate the Trans Balkan Pipeline, which transported Russian gas to southeast Europe via Ukraine for thirty years and is now set to operate with gas flow in the opposite direction.

Copelouzos: Alexandroupoli FSRU to transport gas to Ukraine

Gastrade, the consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, a floating LNG terminal now being developed in Greece’s northeast, will also install an additional FSRU unit at the location, the group’s chief, Dimitris Copelouzos has asserted in comments to media, noting the facility will be capable of transporting natural gas to Ukraine.

According to sources, the Copelouzos group has already held preliminary talks with officials of the embattled country on the prospect of natural gas supply from Greece’s northeast.

A second Alexandroupoli FSRU is expected to be completed in 2025, as an addition to the first terminal at the location, now nearing completion.

The Copelouzos group chief, asked by journalists on the route to be used for transporting natural gas to Ukraine, responded: “Via the pipeline that is now empty,” a reference to the Trans Balkan Pipeline, which transported Russian gas to Greece through the Sidirokastro entry point in the country’s northeast until early 2020.

This route was replaced by Turk Stream in early 2020 so that Ukraine could be bypassed.

The Trans Balkan Pipeline runs from Russia, crossing Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria, before branching out to Greece and Turkey.

Investments, including compressor stations in Bulgaria, will be needed to fully utilize the capacity offered by the Trans Balkan Pipeline, sources pointed out.

PPC takeover of ENEL Romania could be just weeks away

Power utility PPC, currently conducting due diligence for its planned acquisition of Italian energy group ENEL’s Romanian subsidiary ENEL Romania, has completed about 70 percent of the procedure, without issues, and could strike a deal within the next two to four weeks.

If the two sides do reach an agreement, PPC will fully acquire the Italian group’s Romanian subsidiary, a big move facilitating the Greek utility’s plan for expansion into the Balkan energy market with Romania, the region’s fastest growing economy, as a base.

An agreement between PPC and ENEL Romania would offer the former full control of ENEL Romania’s assets, regardless of the subsidiary’s varying stakes in network, supply and RES projects, ranging from 51 to 100 percent. ENEL holds the managerial rights to all its ventures in Romania, also included in the sale.

PPC officials have ruled out any chance of also expressing interest in ENEL’s interests in the Greek market. Asset prices in the Greek market greatly exceed those in Balkan markets, they explained.

An ENEL Romania deal would offer PPC three million customers in Romania as an addition to the company’s five million existing customers in Greece.

It would also offer PPC access to rich natural gas deposits in the Black Sea, while a Romanian venture would be supplied favorably-priced LNG arriving at Greek ports – currently via the Revythoussa islet terminal just off Athens and, in the near future, through a prospective FSRU at Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece.

Greece becoming a key gas exporter, rise in loads relayed

Greece is developing into a major exporter of natural gas with roughly one in three shipments that reach the country relayed to other countries, well over last year’s level of 9.8 percent.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has increased the geostrategic importance of Europe’s south, including Greece, in terms of gas transportation, supply routes from the continent’s south to north now dominant, a reversal of the flow in previous decades.

LNG shipments to Greece supply a large number of landlocked European countries, all the way north to Ukraine. As a result, Greece’s gas exports have skyrocketed in 2022.

In the first eleven months this year, the country’s gas exports reached 26 TWh, more than triple the level recorded for all of 2021, when the year’s gas exports totaled 7.6 TWh.

Greece’s gas exports are expected to rise even more in 2023 as a result of last October’s launch of the IGB pipeline running from Greece to Bulgaria.

Technical solutions are now being sought so that gas exports can also be made via the IGB pipeline as soon as the Alexandroupoli FSRU, a project led by Gastrade, is launched in late 2023. The Alexandroupoli LNG terminal’s arrival will further boost Greece’s capacity to export gas.

 

 

Greek LNG imports increase ranked among world’s highest

Greece is ranked 12th on an international list of 45 countries registering the biggest LNG import increases between January and October this year, according to a report presented yesterday at the World LNG Summit & Awards by independent LNG consultant Andy Flower.

Greek LNG imports during this period increased by approximately one million metric tons compared to the equivalent period in the previous year, the report showed. This increase highlights Greece’s rising stature as an emerging gas hub for gas transportation to the Balkans and eastern European countries.

France topped the list with an increase in LNG imports of approximately 10 million metric tons (mtpa), followed by the UK with a 6 million mtpa increase, and Spain with an increase of just under 6 million mtpa.

Greece’s prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU, in the northeast, offers potential for an even greater increase in LNG imports as, once completed, the facility will stand as one of the EU’s biggest FSRUs and LNG terminals.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU promises to offer a regasification capacity of 4 million tons and a storage capacity of 153,500 cubic meters, figures making it Europe’s fourth biggest FSRU.

Bypass solution for Alexandroupoli FSRU gas to IGB pipeline

Gastrade, a consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of northeastern Greece’s Alexandroupoli FSRU, and gas grid operator DESFA, have reached a verbal agreement for a technical solution that will temporarily skip the need for a compressor station in order to transmit gas from the FSRU to the Greek-Bulgarian IGB pipeline for export.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU is planned to be completed by December, 2023, well ahead of the scheduled completion, by DESFA, of the IGB gas pipeline’s compressor station in Komotini, expected in October, 2024.

Normally, the Komotini compressor station would be needed to transmit natural gas from the FSRU to the IGB pipeline, whose commercial launch is scheduled for tomorrow.

The verbal agreement between Gastrade and DESFA, mediated by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, is soon expected to be made official.

The resulting contract will include a timeline for the development, by DESFA, of necessary accompanying projects concerning the country’s gas grid. They need to be completed if the technical solution agreed to by Gastrade and DESFA is to be brought to fruition.

 

 

DEPA Commercial makes another RES market acquisition

Gas company DEPA Commercial has further penetrated the RES market by fully acquiring NEW SPES CONCEPT, possessing solar farms with a total capacity of 232 MW, and is preparing to buy a further 51 percent stake, for full ownership, of North Solar, whose business plan features 500-MW of solar farms in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region.

DEPA Commercial aims to build a RES portfolio with a 1-GW capacity.

NEW SPES CONCEPT is currently developing 14 solar energy projects and holds as many electricity producer certificates.

DEPA Commercial made a first step into the renewable energy market last year with the purchase of a 49 percent stake in North Solar and is now expected to exercise an option for the other 51 percent of the company.

North Solar’s 500-MW solar farms in the country’s west Macedonia region are expected to receive finalized connection terms in the third quarter of this year, sources informed.

Besides its stakes in NEW SPES CONCEPT and North Solar, DEPA Commercial also holds a 20-percent stake in Gastrade, a consortium established for the Alexandroupili FSRU project in the country’s northeast.

DEPA Chief: ‘Holistic approach to energy matters needed more than ever’

Mr. K. Xifaras, CEO of Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) SA., writes for International Energy Exhibition of Greece 2022

DEPA Commercial is Custodian of Greece’s energy security and of the smooth operation of the domestic energy market. Today, the energy sector, both in Greece and worldwide, is faced with a series of challenges and unforeseen factors which highlight, now more than ever, the need for a holistic approach to energy matters. The need to contain energy costs and support the society, on one hand, and the process of energy transition, on the other, have created a situation in which the market needs to find a balance which will ensure both the country’s energy efficiency and its survival in sustainable terms.

While trying to solve this difficult equation, the role of natural gas, as a bridge, fuel proves to be decisive for shaping the future of the energy market, given the diversification of energy sources and routes of supply and transport, as well as the expansion of storage capacity. DEPA Commercial, which consistently serves these strategic priorities, has been developing a multi-level strategy for the last three years that has proven to be particularly effective. A strategy with double focus: the verticalization and expansion of corporate activities, and the seamless transition to “green” energy, both of which are national goals described in the National Energy and Climate Plan and the European Green Agreement, enhancing our country’s role as a regional energy hub for the wider Southeast European region.

In order to cover the country’s immediate energy needs and to shield its energy security, DEPA Commercial is increasing the supply of LNG either through current contracts or through the spot market, while having already secured long-term agreements on more favorable terms. At the same time, the company is investing in important infrastructure projects and programs, which are drastically reshaping the energy status quo of the region and are contributing decisively to the process of Europe’s independence from Russian gas, such as the Greek-Bulgarian pipeline – IGB and the offshore LNG terminal (FSRU) in Alexandroupolis. Both, projects which will significantly increase the capacity of supply and storage of both Greece and the neighboring countries it serves.

TAP, Poseidon and EastMed are equally important pipeline projects, with the latter returning dynamically to the forefront as a result of the energy crisis, since it will enable the transport of natural gas from the fields of the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe. To that direction, DEPA Commercial is currently in advanced discussions with trading companies from Israel and Egypt.

In this way, a safety net is established regarding the security of supply in the wider region, which upgrades Greece’s geopolitical status by transforming it into a regulatory factor in the energy landscape.

Simultaneously, given the enhanced importance of natural gas, we have designed a comprehensive strategy aiming, on the one hand to expand the use of natural gas, both geographically and in terms of uses, and on the other hand to create the conditions for the development and utilization of renewable and alternative forms of energy. Keeping this in mind, DEPA Commercial is leading the developments towards the transition to a greener economy by designing and implementing initiatives that promote the further penetration of natural gas in the country’s energy mix, as a transitional fuel on the way to cleaner energy forms. The company also contributes substantially to the promotion of gas mobility and the use of cutting-edge technologies, such as Small-Scale LNG and CNG, thus expanding even further the natural gas network and ensuring distribution even in the most inaccessible areas. At the same, time, emphasis is placed on the development of a sustainable and efficient LNG supply chain for maritime transport that will increase the growth prospects of the Greek shipping sector.

With its sights on the future, DEPA Commercial is already active in the field of Renewable Energy Sources by creating a “green” portfolio that exceeds 200 MW of photovoltaic parks, and is also developing projects, infrastructure and technologies which will be able to serve in the future even “greener” energy such as hydrogen and biomethane.

Moreover, at DEPA Commercial we have proven that we operate always considering pertinent societal issues and, for this reason, with a true sense of responsibility we are contributing decisively to the absorption of a significant percentage of the rise in international gas prices, through the implementation of targeted market interventions aimed at supporting households and businesses, in full cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

With a solid vision and through hard work, DEPA Commercial is today an integrated energy company, with strong bases, operating vertically and according to modern corporate governance terms. We are meticulously planning our next steps and we are creating the conditions to successfully meet the ever-changing needs of the market and the economy.

 

Minister: ‘Revythoussa FSU launch by end of this month’

An FSU installation at the Revythoussa LNG terminal on the islet just off Athens will begin operating by the end of this month, energy minister Kostas Skrekas has told an Economist conference.

This LNG’s resulting capacity boost, combined with the development of northeastern Greece’s Alexandroupoli FSRU, now under construction, will upgrade the country’s gasification capacity to 15 bcm annually, a level ensuring Greece’s energy sufficiency as well as supply of quantities to neighboring countries.

Greek gas exports to Bulgaria are already covering as much as 80 percent of the neighboring country’s daily gas needs.

Skrekas, at the conference, also made note of Greece’s potential as a gas and green energy hub in the region. Interconnection projects with neighboring countries will play a pivotal role.

Greece’s plans include upgrading a connection with Albania within the next few years, as well as electricity interconnections with Bulgaria and Italy. In addition, a prospective electricity grid interconnection with Egypt promises to facilitate the transportation of up to 3 GW from the north African country to Greece and, by extension, the rest of Europe.

The minister also made note of the IGB pipeline to be inaugurated this Friday by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ahead of its launch by the end of the month.

DG Energy chief in Athens for talks on range of key projects

The European Commission’s Director-General for Energy Ditte Juul-Joergensen will be discussing a range of issues with the energy ministry’s leadership at a meeting in Athens today, including Greece’s role in the Balkans, western Balkan interconnection projects, natural gas reserves ahead of next winter, as well as Greece’s list of projects related to REPower EU, Europe’s plan for an end to the continent’s reliance on Russian energy sources.

Athens’ plan for wholesale electricity market intervention through a mechanism designed to subdue price levels is also expected to be discussed. It still needs to be approved by the European Commission, according to government sources.

The energy ministry is confident this mechanism will be approved by Brussels following a related agreement reached by its leadership during a visit to Brussels in late May. Market officials have remained uncertain.

Greece is expected to seek funding support estimated between 7 and 8 billion euros through the REPower EU initiative for a total of 14 projects supporting energy efficiency and security.

These projects include an upgrade of the gas grid; installation of a new floating storage unit at the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens; the Dioryga Gas FSRU in Corinth, west of Athens; an FSRU at Alexandroupoli, in Greece’s northeast; the Blue Med hydrogen project; the prospective underground natural gas storage facility (UGS) at the almost depleted natural gas field of “South Kavala” in the Aegean Sea’s north; IGB and TAP capacity boosts; as well as Greek-Egyptian and Greek-Bulgarian electricity grid interconnections.

PM discusses Greek regional gas supply prospects in talks with US president

The crucial role to be played by northeastern Greece’s prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU as a project that promises to help reduce and eliminate the reliance of the Balkans and, by extension, east Europe on Russian gas was stressed during talks between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US president Joe Biden in Washington yesterday.

The Greek leader, who stressed that the Alexandroupoli FSRU will be installed at a port just 500 km from the Ukraine border, added the facility, discussed extensively between the two leaders, will play a pivotal role in Europe’s decision to end its reliance on Russian gas.

Mitsotakis also discussed Greece’s ambitious yet not unattainable objective of becoming an energy hub in the Balkans, as a first step, as well as a key player in eastern Europe.

Three prospective LNG terminals – Alexandroupoli FSRU I and II, as well as Dioryga Gas, close to Korinthos, west of Athens – combined with the existing LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens, that will soon acquire a fourth storage unit, could elevate Greece’s regional role as a main gas supplier in the Balkans and eastern Europe.

 

 

 

Alexandroupoli FSRU development launch today, pivotal project

Development of the Alexandroupoli FSRU in Greece’s northeast, a project promising to boost energy security by broadening energy source diversification for Greece and the wider Balkan region, is scheduled to officially commence today.

The prime ministers of Greece and Bulgaria, as well as Serbia’s president, will attend today’s official ceremony. The leaders will highlight the need for energy source diversification in the Balkans and reduced reliance on Russian natural gas.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU promises to establish Greece as a gas hub for transportation of LNG into the EU.

Natural gas consumption in southeast Europe totals between 10 and 11 bcm annually, half this amount provided by Russia.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU, expected to be ready to operate by the end of 2023, is planned to offer a capacity of approximately 5.5 bcm, greatly diversifying gas supply to southeast Europe.

The project is budgeted at 380 million euros, of which 166.7 million euros will be provided through the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF).

The Alexandroupoli FSRU will be linked with Greece’s gas grid via a 28-km pipeline, enabling gas supply to Greece, Bulgaria and the wider region, including Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Moldavia and Ukraine.

 

Alexandroupoli FSRU project development launch on May 3

Development of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, in Greece’s northeast, a project promising to boost energy security and widen energy source diversification in Greece and the wider Balkan region, is scheduled to officially commence on May 3.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU, to be developed and operated by Gastrade, a project-specific consortium established by the Copelouzos group, has become particularly crucial given the energy market challenges faced by the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU promises to initially offer a new gas transmission corridor to Greece and Bulgaria, and, at a latter stage, to Romania and North Macedonia, helping all these countries reduce their reliance on Russian natural gas.

Completion of the project’s second stage, expected in 2024, promises to double the unit’s capacity and enable natural gas transportation as far as Ukraine.

The Gastrade consortium is comprised of five partners, founding member Elmina Copelouzos of the Copelouzos group, Gaslog Cyprus Investments Ltd, DEPA Commercial, Bulgartransgaz, and DESFA, Greece’s gas grid operator, each holding 20 percent stakes.

All five partners have agreed to offer 2 percent each so that North Macedonia can enter the consortium with a 10 percent stake.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Bulgarian counterpart Kiril Petkov will attend next week’s ceremony marking the start of work on the project.

DESFA calls for doubled gas network capacity, PPPs

The country’s changing energy policy, especially following an EU decision aiming to drastically reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian natural gas, will require far greater gas transmission capabilities, inevitably prompting the need for a major network capacity boost, double the current capacity, with project participation from private-sector investors through public-private partnerships, DESFA, the gas grid operator, has informed RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

The EU’s energy policy, steering Europe towards energy-source diversification, promises to establish Greece as a southeastern transit country handling far bigger quantities than at present.

Speaking at the recent energypress Power & Gas Fourum, Michalis Thomadakis, DESFA’s Director of Strategy and Development Division, noted: “Certain projects need to be developed so that we can fully utilize the new role the Greek gas transmission system is being called upon to adopt in the wider region. This can only be done with investments. It basically means that the system’s capacity needs to be doubled.”

A disruption of Russian natural gas supply to Europe would create a need for approximately 40 bcm to the Balkan region. Much of this quantity would pass through Greek territory.

New infrastructure promising to greatly increase Greece’s LNG importing capacity is already in the making. Projects include the Alexandroupoli FSRU in the country’s northeast, the Dioryga Gas FSRU planned for the Korinthos region west of Athens, as well as an additional storage tank at Greece’s only existing LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens.

Given these prospects, DESFA is currently looking to develop new pipelines and make network revisions that would facilitate greater quantities to other European markets.

 

 

War, energy crisis hastening plans for new LNG facilities

Russia’s war on Ukraine and the energy crisis are precipitating new natural gas and LNG supply solutions, a development that has increased the importance of related projects planned in Greece.

The EU’s decision to drastically reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and terminate the dependence prior to 2030 has increased the importance of supply routes not linked to Moscow’s interests.

This development has increased the feasibility of new infrastructure promising to facilitate natural gas and LNG supply to Europe from alternative sources.

A major US-EU agreement established late last week for supply of an additional 15 bcm, at least, of American LNG to the continent this year, and gradual supply increases further ahead in time, has greatly boosted the prospects for related infrastructure.

The EU intends to follow up on this agreement by also establishing further supply deals with other producers, including Qatar and Egypt, in an effort to increase its LNG imports by a total of 50 bcm.

The EU’s new direction, focused on LNG imports, is seen as essential as the deterioration in relations between Europe and Moscow is expected to last many years.

Related projects in Greece promise to serve as LNG gateways for the country as well as southeast and central Europe, while also establishing Greece as a gas hub with an increased geostrategic role.

The Gastrade consortium recently decided to begin planning a second FSRU for Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, as an addition to a prospective first unit.

Petroleum group Motor Oil aims to begin development of its “Dioryga Gas” FSRU project, 1.5 km southwest of the company’s refinery in Korinthos, west of Athens, by the end of the year.

Gas grid operator DESFA is preparing to further upgrade its LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens.

Also, the Mediterranean Gas company is planning to develop an FSRU at Volos port, on the mainland’s east coast. RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has already issued a license for this project.

In addition, another investor, still undisclosed, is set to begin licensing procedures for yet another FSRU in Greece, sources have informed.

 

 

 

Gastrade decides on additional Alexandroupoli FSRU by 2025

Gastrade, the consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, a floating LNG terminal planned for Greece’s northeast, has reached a decision to also install an additional FSRU unit at the location, expected to be completed in 2025, as a follow-up to the first terminal, set for completion in 2023.

The consortium’s decision for an additional FSRU in Alexandroupoli had been in the making from as far back as last summer, when the energy crisis was at its early stages, but was accelerated by the long-term turmoil now seen in relations between the west and Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further highlighted the need for Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian gas as soon as possible. A completely new reality now appears to be in the making.

Southeastern Europe’s gas needs to result from Europe’s reduced energy dependence on Russia, through strategic diversification, has increased the prospect of Greece’s northeast becoming an energy hub that would facilitate gas exports in all directions, including to Ukraine.

The Gastrade consortium is comprised of five partners, founding member Elmina Copelouzos of the Copelouzos group, Gaslog Cyprus Investments Ltd, DEPA Commercial, Bulgartransgaz, and DESFA, Greece’s gas grid operator, each holding 20 percent stakes.

All five partners have agreed to offer 2 percent each so that North Macedonia can enter the consortium with a 10 percent stake.