The Alexandroupolis floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) unit – part of the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal – commenced commercial operation on Tuesday, October 1st.
The significant project positions the northeastern city of Alexandroupolis, and by extension Greece as a new energy hub for all of Central and Southeastern Europe.
“This is one of the most significant energy projects at the European, regional, national, and local levels, designed, constructed, owned, and operated by Gastrade. A milestone project envisioned 15 years ago by Dimitris Copelouzos,” the company said in a statement.
The project is considered an essential piece of a greater plan for the region that will create a ‘Vertical Corridor’ to improve the energy security of central and southeast Europe and reduce the region’s dependency on Russian natural gas.
The Vertical Corridor will transfer natural gas to the EU market, from Greece to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine, and vice versa, through European natural gas and LNG transmission systems.
The Alexandroupolis FSRU is a part of the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, which connects directly to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
The TAP transports Azerbaijani gas from the Turkish border, across all of Northern Greece and continues to Italy via an undersea link from Albania.
The majority of the imported LNG is not currently planned for sale in Greece; it is estimated that 60-70 percent of the gas produced at the regasification unit will be exported through the new Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) pipeline in reverse flow to Bulgaria, if not sent further.
