- Gastrade is developing 6.1 Bcm/year Alexandroupolis LNG project
- FID set for 2017, FSRU to be operational by end-2019
- Plant has attracted interest of LNG producers, including US, Qatar
GasLog's equity position in Gastrade will "materially contribute in the development of the Alexandroupolis project", Gastrade said.
Greece, which has one operating LNG import terminal at Revithoussa that started operations in 2000, harbors ambitions to become a regional gas hub.
GasLog said that a final investment decision on the Alexandroupolis project would be taken by the end of 2017 with the FSRU scheduled to be operational by end of 2019.
Gastrade joined forces with Greece's state-controlled gas company DEPA to develop the Alexandroupolis FLNG plant, while Bulgaria's state-owned BEH is also interested in taking part.
The LNG facility is also designed to work in tandem with the planned Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector (IGB) to bring gas from Azerbaijan to southeastern Europe via the TANAP/TAP gas pipeline system.
The FSRU will be connected to the Greek gas transmission system through a 28 kilometer pipeline that will allow the transportation of regasified LNG to the markets of Greece and the wider region, in particular Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hungary and Ukraine, Gastrade said.
"It has attracted the interest of major LNG producers and suppliers, both new and existing, such as the US, Cyprus, Israel, Qatar, Algeria and of large international LNG traders," it said.
With US LNG set to ramp up in coming years, Greece wants to position itself as a European import center of choice.
In addition to the 5 Bcm/year capacity Revithoussa terminal -- being upgraded to handle an additional 2 Bcm/year -- the new capacity of the floating import terminal at Alexandroupolis of 6 Bcm/year will give Greece a total LNG import capacity of as much as 13 Bcm/year.
