Work has started for the natural gas project from Greece. The Greek city of Alexandroupoli is set to become the leading facility in Southern Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas. Yesterday, the groundbreaking ceremony of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and gasification terminal was held in Alexandroupoli.
The Prime Ministers of Greece, Bulgaria and North Macedonia Kiriakos Mitsotakis, Kiril Petkov, Dimitar Kovachevski, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and European Council President Charles Michel attended the ceremony.
Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, made the opening speech at the groundbreaking ceremony
Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis named the project the “Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System” (ASFA). Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who made the opening speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, stated that the importance of Greece’s energy map will increase and said, “Moscow’s gas blackmails require urgent cooperation in the Balkans.”
The EU will support the project
The EU will support the natural gas project from Greece with a cost of approximately 400 million Euros, with 167 million Euros. The Greek Natural Gas Enterprise (DESFA) will undertake the remaining 20 percent, Bulgaria and the Greek Gaslog will undertake the last 20 percent.
Terminal will be completed in 2023
It will consist of an LNG floating storage and gasification unit with a 170,000 m3 LNG storage capacity and an annual natural gas regasification capacity of 5.5 billion m3. The 300 meter long unit (the FSRU ship) will moor off the coast of Alexandroupoli. Tankers will discharge compressed natural gas into this unit. The natural gas to be regasified will be transported to the warehouses in Alexandroupoli via a 28-km land and submarine pipeline. The terminal is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
