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Gastrade said in a statement the transformation of Alexandroupolis into a new energy gateway for the entire Central and Southeast Europe begins today with the start of commercial operations of the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal.
Gastrade’s shareholders include founder Copelouzou, DESFA, DEPA, Bulgartransgaz, and GasLog.
This is Greece’s first FSRU and the second LNG import facility, adding to DESFA’s import terminal located on the island of Revithoussa.
The Alexandroupolis LNG terminal has a capacity of up to 5.5 bcm.
First commercial shipment
On February 18, the 174,000-cbm LNG carrier GasLog Hong Kong delivered the commissioning cargo from the US to the 153,600-cbm FSRU, Alexandroupolis.
The LNG carrier, chartered by France’s TotalEnergies, brought the shipment from Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant in Louisiana.
After that, Gastrade planned to launch commercial operations at the end of April and receive the next LNG cargo in mid-May.
However, the company postponed the launch because of a problem that was identified during commissioning in the project’s pipeline system.
Last month, the FSRU-based LNG import terminal off Alexandroupolis completed final tests.
A spokeswoman for Gastrade told LNG Prime last week GasLog will launch commercial operations on October, while the first commercial LNG shipment is set for October 3/4.
TotalEnergies will provide the cargo to Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz which previously booked capacity at Gastrade’s FSRU-based LNG import facility.
The spokeswoman did not provide further information regarding the shipment.
Bulgargaz recently awarded a tender to TotalEnergies Gas and Power, a unit of TotalEnergies, to supply one LNG cargo via the Alexandroupolis FSRU.
The company sought one LNG cargo of about 150,000 cbm on a DES (delivery ex-ship) basis. The delivery window is October 4.
14 Greek and international companies
The FSRU is located in the sea of Thrace at a distance of 17.6 km SW from the port of Alexandroupolis and 10 km from the nearest coast of Makri.
In addition to the FSRU, the terminal consists of a subsea and onshore natural gas pipeline that connects the unit to the domestic grid.
Gastrade said the terminal will deliver natural gas to Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova, and Ukraine in the east, as well as Hungary and Slovakia in the west.
According to the firm, 14 Greek and international companies are already participating commercially in the project, committing almost all of the Terminal’s capacity until at least 2030.
At the same time, the start of commercial operations of the project marks the enhancement of the vertical corridor initiative, significantly strengthening its dynamics, it said.
The FSRU will receive LNG supplies from the USA, Qatar, and other LNG producers.
It is worth mentioning here that US LNG exporter Venture Global LNG just booked long-term capacity at Gastrade’s LNG import terminal.
Under the binding terminal use agreement, Venture Global has secured about 1 mtpa of LNG regasification capacity at the terminal for five years, beginning in 2025.
Venture Global’s capacity will account for about 25 percent of the total terminal capacity or about 12 LNG cargoes annually, it said.
The firm said the deal enables the regasification and sale of LNG from Venture Global’s terminals in Louisiana to markets in Central and Eastern Europe.