The Minister of Energy Rossen Hristov and the Executive Director of Bulgartransgaz EAD Vladimir Malinov inspected the construction activities of the liquefied natural gas terminal near Alexandroupolis, Greece. The Bulgarian gas transmission operator owns 20% of the terminal.
Representatives of the management of the project company Gastrade S.A. presented on site the progress in construction of the terminal and the auxiliary infrastructure. The plans of running the facility into operation as of early 2024 were confirmed.
Vladimir Malinov highlighted the significance of thatinfrastructure for Bulgaria and the countries of South-EastEurope. "The terminal in Alexandroupolis will provide new gas quantities at competitive prices for the markets in the region and will improve their liquidity," he emphasized during the inspection. "The new liquefied gas storage and regasification capacity is also important for LNG producers and will prevent LNG infrastructure congestions and the lack of slots in the region, which we witnessed in 2022," Malinov added.
"We expect, as of next year, to be able to supply 10 tankers of liquefied natural gas annually through this infrastructure," commented the Minister of Energy Rossen Hristov during the inspection. That amount represents about one-third of the consumption in the country.
In addition, the Executive Director of Bulgartransgaz drew attention to the synergy of the terminal with Chiren gas storage expansion project. "The availability of sufficient gas storage capacity is key to increasing LNG supplies and diversification in the region," he stressed.
"Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System" has 5.5 bcm/year natural gas design capacity for regasification. The LNG storage capacity of the facility is 153,500 thousand m³. Among the potential sources of supply are countries producing liquefied natural gas such as Algeria, Qatar, the United States, etc.
Bulgartransgaz, together with the Greek gas transmission operator DESFA, Gaslog Cyprus Investment, DEPA Commercial and Mrs. Elmina Kopelousou are shareholders holding 20% each in the project company building the terminal. Shareholders had the final investment decision for the project in early 2022 and construction works began last summer.
