Greece’s Alexandroupolis LNG Terminal began its commercial operation on Tuesday, marking a significant step in transforming Alexandroupolis into a major energy gateway for Central and Southeast Europe.
Gastrade, which developed and will operate the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System, emphasised the project’s critical role in enhancing energy security and diversifying energy supply routes for the region.
The Alexandroupolis LNG Terminal consists, apart from the FSRU, of a subsea and onshore natural gas pipeline which connects the FSRU to the National Natural Gas Transmission System through which it will deliver natural gas to Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine in the east, as well as Hungary and Slovakia in the west.
The FSRU, named “Alexandroupolis” to honour the city and its inhabitants, has a maximum regasification capacity of 5.5 billion cubic meters per year.
Already 14 Greek and international companies are participating commercially in the project, committing almost all of the terminal’s capacity until at least 2030.
“It took the vision of one person, fifteen years of effort and two years of intensive technical preparation so that Greece, Alexandroupolis, could acquire a cross-sectional project for the energy standing of the wider European region. The Alexandroupolis LNG Terminal is much more than a business project,” emphasizes the founding shareholder of the company Elmina Copelouzou.
“It is a tangible proof of the possibilities we have in Greece to create European infrastructures that address the problems of our times, offering opportunities and prospects for a better and sustainable energy future,” she added.
The implementation of the project began to materialise when the final investment decision was taken on January 27, 2022, by Gastrade.
Onshore and offshore construction work in Alexandroupolis progressed rapidly, while in February 2023 construction of the LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) began in Singapore.
The FSRU sailed from the Seatrium shipyard on November 26, 2023, arriving in the waters of the Thracian Sea on December 17, 2023, where it moored in its permanent position.
After the successful completion of all commissioning tests and the issuance by the ministry of energy and environment of the operating permit this past summer, the project was brought into operational readiness, officially allowing the commencement of its commercial operations.
