Greece and Macedonia to study gas interconnector option

Greece gas grid operator Desfa and state-owned Macedonian Energy Resources (MER) signed a memorandum of understanding to build a 160-km interconnector linking Greece and the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia on October 17 in the capital Skopje.  

The companies will prepare feasibility study for the line that starts in Nea Mesimvria in northern Greece and ends in Stip. The MoU was signed by Desfa CEO Sotiris Nikas and his counterpart at MER, Krste Miladinov.

The line will connect FYROM to the TransAdriatic pipeline (TAP) now being built, and other prospective nearby gas corridors such as Turkish Stream. It will also provide Macedonia with direct LNG supply from Greece’s terminal in Revithoussa off Athens, Miladinov said at the signing ceremony.

“The pipeline is a part of the energy strategy set by the Greek ministry of environment and energy for powering upstream natural gas systems via Greek national transmission system enhancing security of supply in the region,” Desfa CEO said in a statement.

He emphasized that using Revithoussa to supply neighbouring countries is a key objective of Desfa: it serves to create a vertical corridor for the transport of natural gas from the LNG terminal to the Balkan countries and beyond. 

Last August the foreign ministers of both countries signed a preliminary agreement on the interconnector in Skopje.

Kama Mustafayeva