By Angeliki Koutantou
ATHENS – Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary agreed on Thursday to improve the interconnection and transport capability of their fuel grids, a part of their long-standing efforts to diversify fuel sources and enhance their position in Europe’s vitality provide chain.
In 2016, the 4 international locations agreed to develop the required infrastructure for the realisation of the so-called Vertical Fuel Hall, which can allow bidirectional fuel flows from Greece to northern Europe, via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
After Russia lower fuel provides to Europe within the wake of the conflict in Ukraine, European international locations have been in search of different fuel suppliers and have been pursuing vitality cooperation extra actively.
Underneath the memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday on the sidelines of a liquefied pure fuel (LNG) convention in Athens, Greece’s DESFA, Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz, Hungary’s FGSZ and Romania’s SNTGN Transgaz agreed to start talks on regulatory and financial elements of the hall, DESFA stated in a press release.
The settlement will final three years with the choice to be prolonged by another, it added.
“(It) is a crucial step in direction of the implementation of the Vertical Hall, a mission that may considerably contribute to the provision safety of the broader area,” Chief Government of DESFA Maria Rita Galli stated within the assertion.
She added that it'll additional strengthen Greece and the broader area’s position in vitality.
ICGB, the proprietor of a second fuel hyperlink between Greece and Bulgaria (IGB) – a key a part of the Vertical Fuel Hall which started operations this yr – and Gastrade, the developer of a floating storage and regasification unit off the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis, additionally signed the settlement on Thursday.
IGB will turn out to be extra necessary as soon as its most annual capability of three billion cubic metres rises.
“In coordination with DESFA, now we have the chance to extend this capability (to) as much as 5 billion cubic meters per yr,” two senior executives at ICGB stated, including this could occur together with the commissioning of the LNG terminal off Alexandroupolis due in 2024.
Greece has began exporting fuel to Bulgaria, which was lower off from Russian provides earlier this yr after refusing to pay in Russian roubles.
The newest growth matches nicely with Greece’s plans to turn out to be a significant transit route for liquefied fuel in Europe.
This yr, Athens has greater than halved its imports of Russian fuel, as a substitute ramping up deliveries of LNG, primarily from the US and Egypt, to its sole LNG facility at Revithoussa close to Athens.
Post a Comment