Moldova’s energy firm Energocom has signed a framework contract with Greece’s DEPA as it looks to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) via Greece.
Energocom said in a statement it signed the deal with DEPA in Athens last week.
Also, the EFET (European Federation of Energy Traders) contract precedes any sale and purchase deal and is binding between companies in the European Union, the firm said.
Moldova, which is bounded by Ukraine to the north, east, and south, and by Romania to the west, was officially admitted as an EU candidate country in June 2022.
According to Energocom, DEPA will “share with Energocom its vast experience in the gas industry.”
Currently, Greece is a strategic area for natural gas flows. It has already a regasification LNG terminal, and the second will be ready at the end of the year, Energocom noted in the statement.
Greece is also on the route of the TransAdriatic pipeline which is bringing gas from Turkey and the Caspian region and connected with Bulgaria via Interconnector Greece Bulgaria, it said.
“All that infrastructure allows traders from the region to bring gas from several geographical origins and directions, and the prices are advantageous,” the acting director of Energocom, Victor Bânzari, said in the statement.
Gastrade’s FSRU project
Banzari and Moldova’s energy minister visited Greece last week and besides the DEPA meeting, the Moldovian delegation also met with Gastrade’s chief Konstantinos Sifnaios, Energocom said.
Gastrade’s FSRU-based LNG import project in Alexandroupolis is expected to start operation later this year.
The company’s shareholders include founder Copelouzou, DESFA, DEPA, GasLog, and Bulgartransgaz.
Greece currently imports LNG via DESFA’s LNG import terminal located on the island of Revithoussa.
Greek LNG imports via the Revithoussa terminal surged to 78 LNG cargoes in 2022 due to significantly higher volumes from the US, while users have booked all the available slots at the facility in 2023.