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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 per year, or some 66.3 TWh per year.
Gastrade’s 153,600-cbm FSRU Alexandroupolis received its first commercial LNG shipment from Norway on October 3.
A unit of French energy giant TotalEnergies delivered the cargo to Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz which previously booked capacity at Gastrade’s terminal.
Following this delivery, Gastrade expects to receive “one 1 TWh cargo per month in November, December, January, and February,” a Gastrade spokeswoman told LNG Prime.
According to the spokeswoman, these shipments will be followed by 0.5 TWh delivery in March and another 0.5 TWh delivery in July 2025.
This means that seven cargoes, or 6 TWh of LNG, are scheduled to arrive at the terminal during the 2024-2025 gas year which started on October 1.
A sheet provided by Gastrade to LNG Prime shows that companies booked about 69 percent of the terminal’s capacity during this gas year.
This means that the scheduled volumes are much lower than the booked capacity.
DESFA’s data recently showed that Greek LNG import via the Recithoussa terminal decreased by 48.7 percent from January to September, with the US supplying most of the volumes.
Pipeline gas flowing into Greece from the Sidirokastro gas entry point was the main gateway to the Greek market during the period, with an increase of 62.7 percentcompared to the same period last year, DESFA said.
TotalEnerges to deliver two more LNG cargoes
As previously reported, TotalEnergies will supply two more LNG cargoes to Bulgargaz via the Alexandrouplis FSRU following the completion of a recent tender.
The LNG cargoes, each of about 150,000 cbm, are scheduled for delivery in November and December.
Gastrade’s sheet shows that the next delivery is scheduled on November 25, and the one after that on December 27-28.
In addition, Bulgargaz previously launched a tender seeking two LNG cargoes for delivery in January and February 2025.
The sheet shows that the first 2025 delivery is expected on January 25-26, the second on February 22-23, while the third cargo is expected on March 10.
Gastrade expects the fourth 2025 delivery on July 27.
14 terminal users
Gastrade said 14 Greek and international companies are participating commercially in the project, committing almost all of the terminal’s capacity until at least 2030.
Besides Bulgargaz, US LNG exporter Venture Global LNG recently 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 said its capacity will account for about 25 percent of the total terminal capacity or about 12 LNG cargoes annually.
According to Gastrade, the other capacity takers are Greece’s DEPA, Italy’s Edison, Greece’s Attiki Gas Supply, Greece’s Heron Energy, Romania’s OMV Petrom, and Grrece’s Public Power Corporation.
Also, capacity takers include Romania’s Premier Energy, Cyprus-based SK Gas Med, Srbijagas, JSC Power Plants of North Macedonia, Bulgaria’s Tibiel EOOD, and Bulgaria’s Sustainable Energy Supply.
These 14 firms booked all of the terminal’s available capacity in the 2025-2026 and 2026-27 gas years, while 10 percent of the capacity is reserved for short-term LNG volumes.
It’s worth mentioning here that Gastrade conducted maintenance at the LNG terminal from October 15-18, 2014, and it also plans maintenance during June 7-14, 2025.