Greece’s gas utility DEPA has signed a deal with French energy giant TotalEnergies to secure winter supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from November 2022 to March 2023.
The deal is of key importance for the country’s energy supplies in the event gas flows from Russia are reduced or interrupted, according to a statement by Greece’s energy and environment ministry.
Under the deal, TotalEnergies would supply DEPA with two cargoes each month or ten cargoes totaling about 10 terrawatt hours (TWh), the statement said.
The ministry said the price of the LNG supplies would not be linked to the highly volatile TTF price.
Greece also has the right not to purchase the LNG cargoes but pay a cancellation fee, it said.
According to the ministry, Greece’s dependence on Russian pipeline natural gas has significantly decreased in the first half of this year. The share of Russian pipeline gas reached about 34 percent, compared to 45 percent in the same period last year, it said.
At the same time, imports via DESFA’s LNG import terminal located on the island of Revithoussa increased significantly, accounting for 44 percent of total natural gas imports, up from 31 percent last year, the ministry noted.
DESFA previously said the Revithoussa LNG terminal received in total 39 vessels during the six months, compared to just 15 shipments in the same period last year.
The shipments totaled 16.61 TWh, compared to 10.76 TWh in 2021, rising mostly due to higher volumes from the US.
Besides the US, Greece also receives supplies from Algeria, Nigeria, Oman, and others.
Earlier this year, DEPA extended its long-term LNG supply deal with Algeria’s Sonatrach.
LNG deliveries to Greece to continue to rise
LNG deliveries to Greece are expected to significantly rise in the future as Europe looks to reduce its reliance on Russian gas supplies.
The European Union sees Greece as an important hub for ensuring energy security in southeastern Europe.
Besides the Revithoussa termnal, DESFA is also a shareholder in Greece’s LNG terminal developer, Gastrade.
Gastrade’s shareholders DESFA, Copelouzou, DEPA, GasLog, and Bulgartransgaz in January took a final divestment decision on the first FSRU-based import project in Greece.
This project should go online next year.
Gastrade is also planning to install a second FSRU offshore Alexandroupolis, while there are plans for at least three more FSRU-based projects in Greece.