Greek LNG imports drop 49 percent in January-September

The Greek gas grid and Revithoussa LNG terminal operator said the LNG shipments in the nine-month period totaled 12.34 terawatt hours, or 17 tankers.

This compares to 24.04 TWh, or 34 tankers, in the same period in 2023.

Greek LNG imports totaled 8.96 TWh, or 12 tankers, in the first half of this year. This means that Greece received 3.38 TWh, or 5 tankers, during the third quarter.

Besides LNG imports, DESFA said that since the start of the Revithoussa LNG truck loading service in November 2023, 174 LNG trucks have been loaded, transferring 7,787 cbm of LNG, or 51,278 MWh of equivalent energy.

DESFA noted that the truck loading facility offers a flexible solution for transporting LNG to off-grid areas and users by road.

US, Russian volumes down

The US remained the largest LNG supplier to Greece in January-September.

About 65 percent of the LNG volumes came from the US, reaching 8.02 TWh, a drop of 14.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Russia ranked second with 6.27 TWh, a decrease of 54.39 percent compared to the last year.

Besides the US and Russia, Norway supplied 0.98 TWh and Algeria supplied 0.48 TWh to Greece during the period. Algerian volumes decreased 83.84 percent compared to the last year, while Norwegian volumes roase 1 percent year-on-year.

DESFA said that 24.7 percent of all imported gas to Greece in the nine-month period, including pipeline gas, came via the Revithoussa LNG terminal.

Total gas imports to Greece amounted to 48.51 TWh, a drop of 7.9 percent from the January-September period in 2023.

The entry point at Sidirokastro was the main gateway to the Greek market, with an increase of 62.67 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 26.32 TWh.

During the first nine months of 2024, natural gas consumption in Greece increased by 25.16 percent, reaching 47.65 TWh.

According to DESFA’s data, the total quantity transported through the national gas system decreased by 8.14 percent, reaching 48.31 TWh, a decrease mainly attributed to the 95.45 percent drop in natural gas exports through the NNGTS.

Alexandroupolis FSRU

LNG imports to Greece are expected to rise due to the launch of Gastrade’s FSRU-based LNG import terminal off Alexandroupolis.

This is the first FSRU-based LNG facility in Greece and the second LNG import terminal.

DESFA is also a shareholder in this facility along with founder Copelouzou, DEPA, Bulgartransgaz, and GasLog.

The 2018-built 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, GasLog Hong Kong, delivered on February 18 the commissioning cargo from the US to the 153,600-cbm Alexandroupolis.

Gastrade’s FSRU-based LNG import terminal received its first commercial LNG shipment on October 3.

The 2009-built 165,500-cbm, Seapeak Magellan, delivered the shipment from Norway.