European Commission to fund major LNG project in Greece - RIVIERA NEWS

22 Jun 2021

The European Commission (EC) will provide €166.7M (US$198M) for the construction of a new LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece

Funding for the project, which is expected to improve security of supply for Greece and the wider southeastern European region, was approved under the EU’s state aid rules.

Commenting on the EC’s decision, executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said “The new LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis will improve gas supply and infrastructure not only in Greece, but in the whole southeastern European region. This will contribute to achieving 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 State will finance the project using European Structural and Investment Funds and support will take the form of a direct grant amounting to €166.7M (US$198M).

Egypt wants to export surplus gas to Europe through Greece - ARAB NEWS

22 JUNE 2021

RIYADH: Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said he wanted to work with the Greek government to export surplus natural gas to Europe.

It is part of a wider push to boost cooperation across energy and electrical grid interconnection across the island of Crete, which lies midway between the North African country and mainland Greece.

He made the disclosure during talks in Cairo on Monday between Egypt and Greece, co-chaired by Madbouly and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Al Arabiya reported.

A number of recent offshore gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean are rapidly redrawing Europe's energy landscape and shifting the balance of power as more countries move towards self-sufficiency in gas.

At the same time some countries in the region are also exploring the potential to link their power grids to allow the movement of electricity across borders.

It could potentially lead to Gulf Arab states exporting power north to Europe during the winter months when demand is high for heating and for European countries to share their excess power in the summer months, when demand rises in the Gulf, driven by rising air conditioning consumption.