The natural gas transmission system operator of Greece, DESFA reported an increasing trend in natural gas imports in the first half of 2022. Gas mainly arrived in the country through the Revithoussa LNG Terminal.
Between January and June 2022, the total demand for natural gas, which includes domestic consumption and exports increased by 3.84 per cent, reaching 38.91 Terawatt hours (TWh). DESFA reported a decrease of 10.33 per cent in domestic consumption from 33.80 TWh to 30.31 TWh.
In the meantime, there was a notable increase in natural gas exports, which more than doubled from 3.67 TWh to 8.60 TWh. Exports were mainly directed to Bulgaria from the interconnection point in Sidirokastro, while small quantities were also exported to Italy via Nea Mesimvria and TAP. Russia cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria in April which urged the completion of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria or IGB.
Greece imported 38.92 TWh of gas, recording an increase of 3.65 per cent compared to 37.55 TWh in the first half of 2021. The largest quantities entered the country from the Revithoussa LNG Terminal, which covered 44.50 per cent of imports, recording a significant increase compared to the first half of 2021.
In particular, about 16.61 TWh of LNG was unloaded by 39 vessels from 6 countries, compared to approximately 10.76 TWh by 15 tankers from 4 countries in the corresponding period of 2021.
The increase mainly concerned LNG cargoes from the United States, which more than doubled reaching 9.79 TWh, compared to 4.09 TWh in the same period last year. Thus the US remains the largest supplier of LNG to Greece with accounting for 58.94 per cent of the imports. Greece also imported LNG from Algeria (2.47 TWh), Egypt (2 TWh), Nigeria (1.20 TWh) Oman (1.03 TWh) and Indonesia (0.11 TWh).
The Revithoussa LNG Terminal, which is currently the only LNG terminal in Greece, will be upgraded as the country is preparing its energy system for the worst-case scenario, such as a complete cessation of natural gas supplies from Russia.
DESFA is planning to add a floating storage unit to the existing facilities, which will increase storage capacity to 380,000 cubic meters, and increase the regasification capacity by 12 per cent.
The terminal currently has a storage capacity of 225,000 cubic meters and represents an important energy asset for Greece, providing security of energy supply, operational flexibility in the transmission system, and increased capability to meet peak gas demand.
