Gastrade pens deals with N Macedonia on Greek LNG imports
Gastrade said on April 1 it had signed agreements to co-operate with two companies from North Macedonia in the development of its Alexandroupolis LNG import terminal in Greece.
Under the agreements, National Energy Resources Skopje, which manages North Macedonia's gas distribution network, will potentially take an equity stake in Gastrade. Meanwhile, electricity company AD Power Plants of Northern Macedonia has expressed its interest in reserving some of the LNG terminal's 5.5bn m3/year of regasification capacity on a long-term basis.
"The parties will work together in formulating the details of both agreements to be presented to their respective governance bodies for their approval," Gastrade said.
The project will involve positioning a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) some 17.6 km southwest of the port of Alexandroupolis with a 170,000-m3 storage capacity. The unit will be connected to the national grid via a 28-km pipeline, and its gas will be delivered to customers in Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and the wider region, from Serbia and Romania to Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine, according to Gastrade.
Gastrade's largest shareholder is Elmina Copelouzos of the Greek Copelouzos infrastructure investment group. LNG shipowner GasLog, gas supply firm Depa Commercial and Bulgarian transmission operator Bulgartransgaz each own 20% shares, and Copelouzos has agreed on the sale of a further 20% to DESFA.
The EU-backed terminal is expected to start operations in 2023, but its developers are yet to take a final investment decision.