EU approved €166.7 million support for construction of LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis

Brussels, June 18 - Neftegaz.RU. The European Commission (EC) has signed off on a €166.7 million grant for Greece's plan to build a 2^nd LNG import terminal, saying the project will improve the security of supply not only for Greece, but also for Bulgaria and for the wider South Eastern European region, as it will constitute a new potential energy source to feed into the interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria (IGB).

The EC's executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager noted:

• The new LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis will improve gas supply and infrastructure not only in Greece, but in the whole South Eastern European region
• This will contribute to achievement of the EU's goals in terms of security and diversification of energy supply
• The Greek support measure limits the aid to what is necessary to make the project happen and sufficient safeguards will be in place to ensure that potential competition distortions are minimised

The Greek Authorities have confirmed that the LNG Terminal would be apt to use for hydrogen, and that the project would contribute to a cleaner energy mix through increased use of gas instead of coal.

The Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) of the new terminal will be stationed approximately 17.6 km from the town of Alexandroupolis in Northern Greece, at an offshore distance of approximately 10 km from the nearest shore.

The FSRU will have an overall delivery capacity 5.5 billion m³ per year.
The subsea and onshore sections of the gas transmission pipeline, of 24 km and 4 km respectively, will transmit the gas from the floating unit to the Greek natural gas network.

The LNG Terminal in Alexandroupolis is expected to be operational in early 2023.