The port city of Alexandroupolis in northeastern Greece is transforming itself into an energy gateway for Central and Southeast Europe with the commercial launch of a new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).
The project went into operation on October 1, after 30 months of construction and 15 years of conceptual development. Gastrade said its new Alexandroupolis LNG project is one of the most important energy projects at the European, regional, national and local levels.
The project, partly funded by the European Commission (EC), aims to create more local jobs and, in particular, reduce the region's dependence on Russia for energy.
The Alexandroupolis project includes a floating storage tank, a regasification unit – converting liquefied natural gas (LNG) back into gas, and a pipeline system.
There are currently 14 Greek and international companies commercially involved in the Alexandroupolis LNG project, committing most of the project’s capacity until at least 2030. The start of commercial operations of the project significantly boosts the momentum towards the goal of creating a natural gas trading hub in Central and Southeastern Europe. Photo: Amoiridis Law Services
The Alexandroupolis LNG project also includes an onshore and subsea natural gas pipeline. Through the national natural gas transmission system, the project will supply natural gas to consumers in Greece itself as well as to other European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine in the east, as well as Hungary and Slovakia in the west, Gastrade said.
The European Commission (EC) has approved an investment of more than €157 million for the first phase of the project, which is expected to benefit the local economy by converting CO2 emissions into €382 million by replacing coal and oil with gas.
“Looking at Hungary, Ukraine and Moldova, we can see that the current natural gas input from Russia in the long-term natural gas supply structure in this region, including Greece, is around 20 billion cubic meters,” said Maria Rita Galli, CEO of DESFA, the company that operates Greece’s national natural gas pipeline system.
By comparison, the project in Greece will have an export capacity of 8.5 billion cubic meters by early next year, the CEO added. The facility can regasify up to 5.5 billion cubic meters of LNG per year.
The new pipeline is a key gateway for LNG to flow to other parts of Southeast Europe – a region that, like Central Europe, is heavily dependent on Russian gas.
The EU aims to completely eliminate Russian gas from the 27-nation bloc's energy mix by 2027.
Minh Duc (According to Euronews, Balkan Green Energy News)
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/du-an-quan-trong-giup-chau-au-giam-phu-thuoc-vao-khi-dot-nga-204241002203853256.htm
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