Greece’s natural gas export potential will be quadrupled, says Minister

Greece’s natural gas export potential will be quadrupled by the end of the decade, with new infrastructure projects such as the Alexandroupolis floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Alexandra Sdoukou said on Wednesday.

This will happen due to an increase in the capacity of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the new Greece-North Macedonia pipeline that is entering the construction phase, Sdoukou added.

These projects will benefit the country, the wider region and consumers, the deputy minister added addressing the 23rd LNG International Meeting held in Athens.

She also stressed the role of LNG in ensuring the energy supply after the war in Ukraine and referred to Greece’s contribution to the supply of the region, “where it has emerged as a key -and in some cases the only- supplier of natural gas for the countries of South-East Europe.”

She added that if the estimates for deposits in the Greek subsoil are confirmed, Greece may also become an exporter of natural gas in the region.

The next stage is the vertical natural gas corridor that will start from Greece and end in Moldova and Ukraine through which all the countries in the region will be given the opportunity to benefit from the diversification of sources of supply with natural gas, the Deputy Energy Minister said.

The managing director of Greece’s natural gas transmission system operator (DESFA) Maria Rita Galli stated that in mid-2024 the binding market test for the creation of the vertical corridor will take place, with a commitment of capacity from the interested parties operating in the region.

At the beginning of the year, the floating LNG station in Alexandroupolis is also expected to be put into commercial operation.

Other participants stated that the global demand for LNG is growing rapidly while new LNG terminals are being built in Europe: more than 26 projects are underway in 10 European countries.

PS I thought the whole time since the Russian invention to Ukraine that the EU is trying to make us independent from the use of gas and oil. I probably got it wrong this whole time…