Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Bulgarian counterpart, Kiril Petkov co-signed a special symbolic plaque for the commencement of the realisation of the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Alexandroupolis.
The construction and operation of the Alexandroupolis FSRU will strengthen the strategic role of Greece as an energy hub for the wider region of Southeastern Europe and will offer alternative sources and gas supply routes to the region, enhancing energy security of supply and energy autonomy, during challenging times. The project will also make Alexandroupolis an energy gateway for the entire region of Southeastern Europe, highlighting the strategic importance of the city and stimulating the local economy and employment.
“The energy map is changing. We are now entering the final stage of implementation of the FSRU Alexandroupolis, an important and innovative project for Greece,” noted the founding shareholder and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Gastrade, Elmina Copelouzou. “In a period of high volatility in the geopolitical and energy landscape, with this project, Greece shows Europe that it can respond with firm strategic steps to the uncertainty of the times and, through growth and offer solutions from which everyone can benefit.”
The FSRU, with a capacity of 153,500 cubic metres of LNG, will be connected to the National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGΤS) of Greece with a 28 kilometres long pipeline, through which the gasified LNG will be transmitted to the markets of Greece, Bulgaria and the wider region (Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia and so on), with the prospect of supplying Ukraine, as well.
“The importance of the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System as a new energy gate is key to Southeast Europe,” added Vladimir Malinov, CEO of Bulgartransgaz, one of the shareholders of Gastrade. “The terminal will provide the necessary additional quantities of natural gas, offering access to producers from around the world and connectivity with the appropriate supply routes to all interested users in the region. […] Thanks to the terminal, Bulgaria, Greece and neighbouring countries will be able to take full advantage of the growing LNG market and the security and competitive prices it provides. Access to alternative gas supplies, from the US, Qatar, Egypt and other countries, will ensure competitive gas prices for these countries.”
“The Alexandroupolis FSRU comes to establish Greece as a country with a leading role in regional energy developments, decisively strengthening, amidst a challenging international landscape, the energy security of Greece and the wider region,” pointed out the CEO of DESFA, Maria Rita Galli. “The interconnection of this strategically important project with the existing and the new export routes to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, through DESFA’s network, will allow for the increase of the country’s exports to the markets of Southeastern and Central Europe, further establishing Greece as an energy hub.”
The Alexandroupolis FSRU is expected to operate by the end of 2023, with the contracted regasification capacity reaching already up to 60 per cent of its technical capacity of 5.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year.
Photo: DESFA/Twitter.
