Greece's Gastrade extends deadline for Alexandroupolis LNG capacity bids - PLATTS

25 Feb 2020 | 09:51 UTC

Stuart Elliott, Author / Jonathan Fox, Editor

• Binding bids can now be submitted up to March 10
• Non-binding first phase saw interest for 12.2 Bcm/year
• Commercial start-up of FSRU seen in Q3 2022

London — Gastrade, the Greek developer of a planned floating LNG import facility at Alexandroupolis in northern Greece, has extended the deadline for binding bids for capacity in the project to March 10, it said late Monday.

The original deadline for interested participants to submit their offers was Monday, but Gastrade opted to extend the deadline to allow interested parties more time to submit their bids.

In particular, Gastrade said it wanted to attract bidders that did not take part in the first, non-binding phase for expressions of interest in Alexandroupolis LNG capacity.

TANAP delivers 2.39 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey as of August - DAILY SABAH

27.09.2019 
BARIŞ ERGIN

The amount of gas the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) has carried to Turkey has reached 2.39 billion cubic meters as of August, TANAP General Manager Saltuk Düzyol said.

"A total of 30%, corresponding to $450 million, of the revenue of $1.45 billion that will be generated when the total transmission capacity is reached, will belong to BOTAŞ [Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation] every year. We predict that TANAP will reach a full transmission capacity of 16 billion cubic meters in two to three years," Düzyol told a group of journalists in Ankara yesterday.

The 1,850-kilometer TANAP forms the backbone of the Southern Gas Corridor, a project to increase and diversify European energy supply by bringing gas resources from the Caspian Sea: Shah Deniz 2 gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and through Turkey to Europe markets.

Turkey at the Eastern Mediterranean Crossroads - THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES (JISS)

Cyprus' declared (Blocks 1-13) & undeclared EEZ

18.12.2018
Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak

Turkey finds itself at a historic junction where it must decide whether to proceed alone by challenging Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus – or whether to embrace regional cooperation.


Introduction
The eastern Mediterranean, an arena of great power struggles, has undergone dramatic changes over the past decade. The “Arab Spring,” Egyptian military takeover, civil war in Syria, refugee waves, and Turkey’s deteriorating relations with the West and Israel – are the most important aspects of this drama.

However, these remarkable developments alone do not provide a complete picture of the forces transforming the region. Russia is once again establishing a permanent presence, while China seeks anchors for its “Belt and Road Initiative.” Moreover, the newly-discovered natural gas resources have turned the eastern Mediterranean into one of the most significant geostrategic maritime zones, which may reshape the regional balance power and the dynamics of European energy politics.

With its abundant natural gas reserves and opportunities for joint ventures, the eastern Mediterranean is emerging as an important region, shaping the balance of power and paving the way for new alliances. As a key player in the region, Turkey finds itself at a historic junction, where it must decide whether to proceed alone by challenging Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus – or whether to embrace regional cooperation.

The TurkStream Opportunity - CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

November 28, 2018

Nikos Tsafos

As the battle for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project continues, the offshore section of the TurkStream gas pipeline, from Russia to Turkey, was inaugurated on Monday, November 19. Two broadly similar projects have triggered sharply different responses—no one is threatening sanctions over TurkStream, there are no grand legal or diplomatic chess moves to stop the project, and the op-eds and conferences denouncing the project are few and far between. That is good news—no one needs more Nord Stream 2-like controversy. But it is also good news because TurkStream can enhance energy security; but only if Europe acts. For a continent bitterly—and, often, needlessly— divided by pipelines, TurkStream offers an opportunity to depoliticize gas and show that new infrastructure can be a win-win for Russia and Europe.

TurkStream will have two parallel lines: the first to deliver gas to Turkey, the second for onward sale to Europe (although markets will determine the actual volume split). Like other Russian pipelines, the short-term impact will be to change how Russian gas is sent to Europe: rather than flowing through Ukraine, Russian gas will be shipped straight to Turkey and, later, Europe through the Black Sea. Over time, as Russian exports grow, the pipeline will be delivering new gas rather than acting purely as a substitute route. This evolution takes time: gas transit through Ukraine fell by approximately 40 percent between 2011 and 2014, after the Nord Stream 1 pipeline came online, but it had largely recovered by 2017 (2017 volumes were about 10 percent lower than 2011).

Energy deals with US giants announced in Thessaloniki - KATHIMERINI

Mark Menezes addressed the AmCham energy conference
in Thessaloniki on Friday

07.SEPT.2018 : 21:28

Chryssa Liaggou

Major energy deals involving Greek and US interests were announced at Friday’s American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce conference held in the context of this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair, which officially opens on Saturday.

In the presence of US Under Secretary for Energy Mark Menezes, US Ambassador in Athens Geoffrey Pyatt and ExxonMobil representative Tristan Aspray, Greece’s Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis announced the completion of negotiations for the concession contract regarding the surveying and utilization of hydrocarbons south and southwest of Crete with the Total-ExxonMobil-Hellenic Petroleum consortium. He added that the contract will be signed next week.

In the context of the conference in Greece’s second city, Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) and Gastrade also signed the agreement for the participation of DEPA with a 20 percent stake in the terminal floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) that Gastrade is developing off Alexandroupoli in Thrace. Sources say some issues on the price and the approval of board members are still pending, while DEPA’s final stake could change, depending on the other holdings that may emerge.

Azeri natural gas sellers book 8.6 Bcm/year long-term capacity to Italy: TAP - S&P GLOBAL PLATTS

Brussels, 23 Aug 2018 | 11:28 UTC
Author: Siobhan Hall; Editor: Alisdair Bowles

• 10 Bcm/year Greece
• -Italy TAP gas link to open in 2020
• Shah Deniz 2 sellers have 25-year capacity contracts
• TAP to offer short-term capacity in future auctions

Brussels — Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 natural gas field producers have booked around 8.6 Bcm/year of long-term capacity to Italy in the planned 10 Bcm/year Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, developer TAP's head of communication, Lisa Givert, told S&P Global Platts on Thursday.

TAP is the last leg of the so-called Southern Gas Corridor that is to enable Europe to import gas initially from the 16 Bcm/year Shah Deniz 2 field, a new supply source.

First Gas Deliveries to Turkey Launched Via TANAP Pipeline - SPUTNIK NEWS

30.JUNE.2018, 14:24 

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Azerbaijan has started first gas deliveries to Turkey via the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), Southern Gas Corridor CJSC General Director Afgan Isayev said in a statement.

"The SGC project has been financially supported by the leading international financial institutions, and Phase-0 under TANAP project, which relates to the works required for the first commercial gas deliveries to Turkey, has already been completed. First commercial gas deliveries to Turkey has commenced today, on 30 June 2018. The works planned for the delivery of natural gas to Europe through Turkey in the near future are being carried out according to the schedule," Isayev was quoted as saying in the statement.

According to the statement, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA, part of World Bank group) has approved the loan for the Azerbaijan Republic totaling $750 million to finance the TANAP project.

It will transport gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz Stage 2 gas field to Turkey and Europe.

The target capacity of the TANAP pipeline is 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The pipeline is 1,150 miles long.

A Storm Is Brewing In The Southern Gas Corridor - OIL PRICE

Jun 23, 2018, 4:00 PM CDT

Vanand Meliksetian

No fewer than Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attended a gathering in Central Turkey on 12 June. The amount and variety of attendees of this meeting reveal a common interest in one field of geopolitical developments: energy and more specifically natural gas.

The opening ceremony of the 1.850 kilometers long Trans Anatolian Pipeline, TANAP, starting at the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan and ending in Turkey, is the last step before connecting to the European grid in Greece and Italy. TANAP is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which was the dream of many European leaders and officials to create an alternative to Russian gas.

Turkey opens TANAP pipeline that will bring Azeri gas to Europe - DW

12.06.2018

Turkey and Azerbaijan have inaugurated the TANAP pipeline that will bring gas to Europe while bypassing Russia. The project has won political support from both the United States and European Union.

The presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan have inaugurated a major pipeline that will eventually transport Azerbaijan natural gas to Europe.

The $8.5-billion (€7.2 billion) Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, aimed at turning Turkey into an energy hub and diversifying EU natural gas supplies away from Russia.

"Our country is now one step closer to its vision to become a hub of regional energy lines thanks to TANAP," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in the central city of Eskisehir on Tuesday, dubbing the project "the Silk Road of energy."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic were in attendance at the ceremony which saw the last section of the pipeline put in place.

New Players Enter The European Gas Game - OIL PRICE

Jun 10, 2018, 12:00 PM CDT
Vanand Meliksetian

The expansion of the European Union in 2004 and 2007 indirectly led to several crises at a level not seen since the oil embargo of 1973. The accession of several former Warschau pact countries introduced an extra dimension to European politics: Russia. Due to historical reasons some of these countries have a high dependency concerning hydrocarbons on their large eastern neighbour. Several serious disputes concerning supply, pricing, and debt between Moscow and Kiev from 2005 until 2009 led to disruptions in supply to EU member states. These conflicts highlighted the need for reduced dependency on Russia.

During this period the search for alternative sources was already on its way, but the shutdown of gas supplies as a consequence of these disputes accelerated the process. The completion of two LNG liquefication plants in Poland and Lithuania has decreased the dependency of this region on Russia. The south-eastern flank of the EU, however, is in a direr state. In order to alleviate dependency, the European Commission obstructed construction of the South Stream pipeline from Russia through the Black Sea to Bulgaria.

Giant gas pipeline boost for Turkey amid turmoil - ARAB NEWS

April 27, 201813:10
Richard Wachman

• Turkey’s aim to become regional energy hub not yet achieved
• Ankara to collect transit fees, tariffs and taxes

It has been a decade in the making: The $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), arguably the gas industry’s most significant and ambitious undertaking yet, involving seven governments and 11 companies.

The 3,500 kilometers pipeline corridor is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the global oil and gas industry, bringing Caspian gas through three linked networks across Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy where it can be conveyed to European markets.

SGC has been pushed by the EU since 2008 as a strategic imperative to reduce the bloc’s dependence on Russian gas, and has been bankrolled by EU and international funding, including loans from the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, which counts Saudi Arabia and UAE as members.

EIB approves 932 mln euro loan for TANAP gas pipeline - REUTERS

MARCH 15, 2018 / 5:48 PM
Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; editing by Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS, March 15 (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank approved 932 million euros ($1.15 billion) in financing on Thursday for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the largest part of a $40 billion project to bring new gas supplies to Europe.

The so-called Southern Gas Corridor is expected to bring around 16 billion cubic metres per year to Europe by 2020 from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan via TANAP through Turkey, the South Caucasus pipeline extension through Georgia and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Greece, Albania and Italy.

Shah Deniz 2 is one of the world’s largest gas fields and is developed by a BP-led consortium.

Financing for construction of the TANAP pipeline has already been approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB).

SOCAR to keep on diversifying its business portfolio in Turkey - MENAFN / AZER NEWS

2/12/2018 3:34:09 AM
Kamila Aliyeva

Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR will continue to diversify its business portfolio and make new investments in Turkey in the future, the company told Trend and Azernews.

SOCAR has invested in several countries, as well as in Turkey during the last decade in order to optimize its revenues and create added value for Azerbaijan's economy, the company noted.

"The modernization and reconstruction of Petkim Petrochemical Complex and the construction of Petlim container port have already been completed successfully and we are happy to announce that two of our strategically important projects in Turkey, namely the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Star Oil Refinery will be commissioned this year," SOCAR said.

All of these projects are a part of SOCAR's vertical integration strategy, according to the company.

EIB approves 1.5 bln euro loan for TAP gas pipeline - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 6, 2018 / 7:39 PM
Alissa de Carbonnel, Editing by Jane Merriman

BRUSSELS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank on Tuesday approved a 1.5 billion euro loan for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of a $40 billion project to bring new gas supplies to Europe.

The European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by developing the so-called Southern Gas Corridor which is expected to bring around 16 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Europe by 2020.

The gas would come from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan via several routes, including the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Greece, Albania and Italy.

TAP is slated to bring up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas to Italy from Shah Deniz 2 - one of the world’s largest gas fields developed by a BP-led consortium.

EIB Vice President Andrew McDowell told Reuters the TAP project would help to offset declining European production, provide a diversified source of gas and displace coal-fired power generation in central and south eastern Europe.

Southern Gas Corridor to Start Pumping Natural Gas in Mid-2018 - CASPIAN NEWS

February 2, 2018

Mushvig Mehdiyev

The Southern Gas Corridor mega-pipeline that will deliver Caspian gas to Europe and Turkey, may come online early and be operational by the middle of this year.

On Thursday, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia, Gary Jones, said the development of the second phase of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field – currently the only supplier for the corridor – and the expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline – one of three segments within it – are almost complete.

Turkey’s Syria campaign unlikely to affect regional energy projects - NEW EUROPE

JANUARY 29, 2018, 10:44
Kostis Geropoulos

East Med gas pipeline from Cyprus to Greece and onto Europe bypassing Turkey has the less political risk, leading regional expert says

ATHENS – As Turkey moves forward with ‘Operation Olive Branch’ with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly saying that Ankara is prepared to take its fight against Kurdish forces in northern Syria as far as Iraq, a leading regional analyst told New Europe that the latest military campaign is not likely to have any direct effect on energy projects.

Asked if that military operation would have any effect on long-term projects like the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Saleh Jallad of the Consolidated Contractors Company and publisher of the Middle East Economic Survey “MEES” said, “No, these are a little bit in a way independent. TAP, for instance, it has to do with influence but indirect ways, not direct with Turkey. So it will continue to go and it’s a good project, in my opinion, because it could supply Europe… and Greece will also benefit from this project”.

Jallad stressed that Turkey also wants to diversify its energy resources because the majority of its imports are from Russia.

Europe's Natural Gas Market Is Heading South - BLOOMBERG

January 30, 2018, 11:56 AM GMT+2
Reed Landberg, Tommaso Ebhardt, Chiara Albanese

• Italy pipeline operator Snam is building more flexible system
• LNG and Caspian-area supplies may make Italy a gas exporter

The center of gravity in Europe’s natural gas market is heading south as one of the continent’s biggest pipeline operators builds a system that could make Italy an exporter of the fuel for the first time.

At Rome ‘Club Med’ summit, Greece gets a line on TAP gas to Italy - NEW EUROPE

JANUARY 12, 2018, 18:49 
Kostis Geropoulos

But East Med exports from Cyprus, Israel still pipe dream for now

As heads of state and government of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, or so-called “Club Med,’ convened in Rome on January 10 for the fourth Summit of the Southern European Union countries, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades reportedly discussed energy issues with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Currently, Italian energy major ENI and France’s Total are drilling for natural gas in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Also in Rome, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Gentiloni reportedly discussed energy cooperation. Greece and Italy are cooperating to bring Caspian gas to Europe via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.

Why Turkey supports TurkStream, TANAP? - ANADOLU AGENCY

11.01.2018 

Murat Temizer

With TANAP and TurkStream, Turkey will gain spare capacity for extra gas imports from new sources and for future re-exports

ANKARA - Turkey's new supply sources with new TANAP and TurkStream natural gas pipelines will help supply security and help meet demand surges in line with the Turkish government's energy policy to diversify sources, according to the latest report of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) on Thursday.

The Gas Supply Changes in Turkey report written by Gulmira Rzayeva, a fellow in the OIES discerned that the Turkish government is in the process of making significant structural changes to the country’s energy sector and the country expects two natural gas pipeline projects to be operational in the near future.

SCPX project: construction complete at majority of facilities in Georgia - TREND NEWS AGENCY

30 December 2017 10:04 (UTC+04:00)

Construction work has been completed at majority of facilities as part of the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion (SCPX) project in Georgia, Trend learned from Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

"SCPX compressor stations’ construction is progressing. The first compressor station (CSG1), as well as pressure reduction station at Georgian-Turkish border (Area 81), the 62-kilometer SCPX pipeline extension, including connection with TANAP at the Turkish border is completed," said the source in the ministry.

The construction of the second compressor station (CSG2) is 90 percent complete, added the source.

"The expansion of South Caucasus pipeline is one of the most important developments in terms of energy security of Georgia and larger region, said the source.