Bulgartransgaz has announced the purchase a 20% share in Greece’s Gastrade S.A. Gastrade is a project company owned by Copelouzos Group and the Natural Gas Company of Greece (DEPA). This investment confirms Greece’s attempt to transform itself into an energy transport hub and provides for important future revenue streams. Gastrade is building a liquified natural gas (LNG) import terminal near Alexandroupolis in northern Greece. The terminal will have an estimated annual capacity of 6.1 billion cubic metres (bcm), which will be supplied to Bulgaria and other Balkan countries through the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) natural gas pipeline. The LNG will be supplied by supplies from the United States, Qatar and other sources. This provides an important diversification for Bulgaria, which currently depends on Russia for all of its 3 bcm natural requirements. In 2019, Greece supplied 0.4 bcm of natural gas to Bulgaria on a trial basis. The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) natural gas pipeline has been designated as a Project of European Common Interest, indicating the strategic nature of this project in diversifying energy supply and increasing competition in the sector.
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Photo (c) Kathimerini Greece
Sources:
Bulgartransgaz Bulgaria, 8 January 2020
Kathimerini Greece, 9 January 2020
New Europe, 9 January 2020
PortsEurope, 8 January 2020
EnergyPress Greece, 8 January 2020
Ekathimerini Greece, 8 January 2020