Bulgargaz

Revythoussa LNG terminal still vital despite lessened activity

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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.

Revythoussa LNG slot prices soar, driven by Balkan exports

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Driven by LNG export potential to Bulgaria and the wider eastern European region, energy companies have submitted bids of between 3.5 and 4 million euros for slots at gas grid operator DESFA’s LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens.

These bids, made at an ongoing DESFA auction offering slots for the next four years, are roughly three-and-a-half times higher than price levels recorded last year.

Two Bulgarian companies, Bulgargaz and Kolmar, as well as Greece’s power utility PPC and Motor Oil, were the winning bidders at the auction’s session yesterday, securing four of eight Revythoussa slots offered. The other four slots are expected to be taken by bidders today.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, gas company DEPA secured eight slots for 4 TWh, Mytilineos secured five slots for 5 TWh, as did and Bulgaria’s MET.

Greece’s recent transformation as a strategic gas exporter for the wider region has prompted a surge in demand for slots at the Revythoussa LNG terminal.

During the year’s first nine-month period, the country’s gas exports increased by 293 percent, representing over 20 TWh. Bulgaria was the main recipient. Greece has been covering the neighboring country’s gas needs for some months now, following natural gas pipeline disruptions from Russia.

 

Alexandroupoli FSRU project sustainable, reservations show

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A second-round market test offering capacity reservations for the prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU in northeastern Greece has drawn enough interest to ensure the project’s sustainability ahead of a final business decision, energypress sources have informed.

The deadline for this market test, a binding procedure, expires today following a ten-day extension granted in order to give Romania’s Romgaz more time to confirm the duration and quantity of its offer.

Romania has entered a period of political crisis after interim prime minister Ludovic Orban’s Liberal Party government was toppled in a no-confidence vote called by the main opposition last month. The coronavirus crisis has worsened the situation. Orban and his entire Cabinet have quarantined themselves after coming into contact with a senator who was later confirmed to have the coronavirus.

Greek gas utility DEPA and power utility PPC have reserved Alexandroupoli FSRU capacities for lengthy periods, the sources added.

Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz and a Serbian company are also believed to have confirmed earlier requests for capacity reservations.

The Bulgarian, Serbian and Romanian interest highlights the potential of the Alexandroupoli FSRU to serve as a new natural gas gateway for southeast European markets, via the Greek-Bulgarian IGB pipeline, now under construction, as well as other existing and planned gas pipelines in the region.

PPC, seeking gas market role, wants 500 bcm at FSRU in Alexandroupoli

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Power utility PPC, seeking a strategic role in Greece’s natural gas market, intends to submit a capacity reservation offer to an ongoing Alexandroupoli FSRU second-round market test for approximately 500 million cubic meters per year.

PPC has reached a decision and is preparing to submit its offer within the next few weeks, energypress sources informed.

A capacity reservation at the prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU in Greece’s northeast is crucial for PPC following its recent failure to secure slots in 2020 for the LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens.

PPC’s Alexandroupoli FSRU interest is driven by two objectives, firstly, to cover natural gas needs at its gas-fueled power stations, and secondly, to trade gas in the wholesale market, like the sector’s other major players. Besides the Greek market, PPC also sees gas trading opportunities in the wider region of southeast Europe.

PPC is determined to establish its place in a sector being transformed by the development of major trans-boundary projects, namely TAP and IGB. Domestically, the Alexandroupoli FSRU and an underground gas storage facility at a depleted offshore gas field in the south Kavala region also offer major potential for PPC.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU market test has generated considerable interest – unofficial until now – seen easily covering terms set to ensure the project’s sustainability before any finalized investment decision is made for development.

Greek gas utility DEPA, now holding a 20 percent stake in the Alexandroupoli FSRU consortium, will definitely seek to reserve capacity. Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz, also a 20 percent shareholder, will participate in the second-round market test seeking an annual capacity of between 300 to 500 million cubic meters, according to a Reuters report.

Many of the first-round market test’s 20 participants, plus a number of new faces, have emerged for the procedure’s binding second round, sources informed.

First round Alexandroupoli FSRU offers more than doubled a total capacity of 5.5 bcm to reach 12.2 bcm.

 

Copelouzos’ DESFA 6.6% buy inspection ready by September

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RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, expects to complete its inspection of the Copelouzos group’s entry into gas grid operator DESFA early in September, enabling the agreement’s completion.

Earlier this month, the Copelouzos group’s Damco agreed to buy a 10 percent stake of Senfluga, a consortium formed by Snam, Enagas and Fluxys for the acquisition of a 66 percent stake of DESFA last year. This promises to offer Damco a 6.6 percent share of DESFA.

RAE’s endorsement could be delayed beyond early September if the authority requests further details on the agreement, some sources warned.

Damco’s decision to acquire a 6.6 percent stake of DESFA, officially announced on August 5, signals the Copelouzos group’s interest for a wider association with Snam, Enagas and Fluxys in international infrastructure projects.

The Senfluga consortium was established with Snam as its main shareholder, holding a 60 percent stake, joined by Enagas and Fluxys, each with 20 percent stakes.

The Copelouzos group, in association with Gaslog, an international LNG carrier run by Panagiotis Livanos, has launched an effort for the development of an FSRU in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece. Greek gas utility DEPA, its Bulgarian peer Bulgartransgaz, and private investors are also expected to become involved in this project.

Highlighting the domestic natural gas market’s growing potential, DESFA is also eyeing an imminent tender for the development of an underground gas storage facility at a depleted natural gas field in the offshore South Kavala region.

 

DEPA makes first ever gas sale abroad with Bulgargaz order

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Greek gas utility DEPA has taken a first step towards actualizing an international trading role in the wider Balkan region, a strategy mapped out by its administration, by clinching a deal to supply a 1.5 million-MW quantity of natural gas to Bulgaraz. The development represents DEPA’s first natural gas sale abroad.

DEPA was the winning bidder of an auction staged by the Bulgarian energy company for its first ever purchase of natural gas not stemming from Russia’s Gazprom Export, the Balkan country’s standard gas supplier through a long-term supply agreement.

Besides DEPA, the Bulgaraz auction also involved Dutch company Colmar and Bulgaria’s Dexia.

The natural gas quantity ordered by Bulgaraz through its auction is scheduled to be delivered by the summer through a Greek-Bulgarian pipeline connection. Russian gas reaches Greece through this reverse-flow pipeline.

DEPA, as part of its plan to expand its gas trading activities in the wider Balkan region, is seeking Gazprom permission to sell Russian gas in Balkan markets. Gazprom has yet to offer such an approval.

DESFA, Botas working on deal to liberalize Greek entry point

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Greek gas grid operator DESFA and Turkish state-run crude oil and gas company Botas are working on an agreement concerning the Kipous grid interconnection in Evros, at Greece’s northeastern tip, which would enable third parties, in addition to Greek gas utility DEPA, to use the link as an entry point for natural gas imports.

DESFA has already reached an equivalent agreement with Bulgarian operator Bulgartransgaz for the gas grid interconnection at Sidirokastro, by the Greek-Bulgarian border. Subsequently, since 2017, five new firms besides DEPA, until then Greece’s only natural gas importer from this entry point, have brought gas quantities into the local market via the Sidirokastro link.

DEFSA and Botas have now been engaged in talks over the matter for several months. It is unclear how much more time will be needed for an agreement.

Their negotiations are focused on technical measure-related issues and a reverse-flow agreement that would also enable gas outflow from Greece to Turkey.

Last IGB market test, FSRU plan for Alexandroupoli imminent

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The prospective IGB (Greek-Bulgarian Interconnector) project’s third and final market test, entailing the submission of binding bids by gas traders for the allocation of pipeline capacity, appears to be nearing.

The IGB project is directly linked to a plan for the development of a floating LNG termimal in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, as one project would benefit the other.

Bulgaria’s new energy minister Nikolay Pavlov is believed to be maneuvering to make up for lost time as a result of the recent early elections held in Bulgaria. The third-round market test was originally scheduled to take place in March.

In addition, a required FEED (front-end enginnering and design) study concerning the Alexandroupoli LNG terminal is expected to be completed by the summer. This means that Gastrade, the enterprise behind the project, is expected to reach a final investment decision by the end of 2017.

GasLog, a venture headed by shipping magnate Peter Livanos, holds a 20 percent stake in Gastrade. GasLog has transported numerous LNG shipments for US firm Cheniere, interested in exporting gas to Europe via the prospective Alexandroupoli facility.

The Greek city’s floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), supported by the European Commission as an EU project of common interest, which would ensure EU funding, is planned to be developed as a 170,000 cubic-meters facility situated 17.6 kilometers southwest of the Alexandroupoli port.

Returning to the IGB project, a first market test was staged in April, 2016 but was deemed invalid. A second test held last November prompted offers covering 50 percent of the pipeline’s planned capacity, or 1.4 to 1.5 bcm, from DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, Bulgargaz and Italy’s Edison. All three are involved in the project’s development.