DESFA: Record year for gas consumption in 2021

A record year for the consumption of natural gas in Greece was 2021, according to the annual data of DESFA.

The entry point to Sidirokastro remained the main gas inflow gate to the ESFA, while the contribution of the new entry point to Nea Mesimvria, which connects the NSRF with the TAP pipeline from the end of 2020, was also remarkable.

Specifically, according to the relevant data of DESFA for 2021, domestic gas consumption increased by 10.87% reaching 69.96 million megawatt hours (MWh) from 63.1 million MWh in 2020. Most of the domestic (68.65%) corresponds to the consumption of electricity generation units, followed by household consumers and companies connected to the distribution networks, with a percentage of 18.77%, as well as domestic industries, which are directly connected to the high pressure system of DESFA , with a percentage of 12.56%.

Regarding the LNG landings that took place at the Revythousa Terminal last year, they amounted to approximately 24.51 TWh from 35 tankers compared to 33.40 TWh from 49 tankers in 2020. Despite the decrease compared to the previous year, almost a third (31.8%) of imported gas came from imports of LNG cargo. The reductions are mainly due to LNG shipments from the USA and Qatar (-26.96% and -44.59% respectively), while a significant increase of 60.24% compared to 2020 had LNG imports from Algeria. LNG imports from Egypt also increased by 29.74%. The USA remained the largest importer of LNG in our country with 12.29 TWh (50.14%), with significant imports of quantities being recorded mainly during the fourth quarter of the year and Algeria followed in second place with 5.40 TWh ( 22.04%). Qatar and Egypt follow with 4.74 (19.37%) and 1.12 TWh (4.59%) respectively, while in the last place for 2021 is Angola with 0.94 TWh (3.84%).

With the opening of an additional (fourth) point of entry in the NSRF, that of Nea Mesimvria, the security of supply of the country is further strengthened and the diversification of sources and infrastructure of supply is expanded. Thus, for 2021, gas imports recorded an increase compared to the previous year, reaching 77.73 TWh, compared to 70.64 TWh for 2020. The largest quantities entered from the entry point of Sidirokastro (35 , 37 TWh), which covered 45.5% of total imports, recording an increase of 10.41% compared to the corresponding period last year. During the first year of its operation, a quantity higher than 13.61 TWh was introduced through the new point of entry in Nea Mesimvria, which corresponds to 17.5% of the total imports, with, finally, about 4.02 TWh (5.17 %) were introduced in the NSRF from the point of entry into the Gardens of Evros.

It is worth noting that the connection of the NSRF with TAP, through the new gateway to New Mesimvria, significantly enhances the country’s role in the regional energy landscape, as the Natural Gas System is now connected to one of the largest gas markets in Europe. that of Italy, which in turn is connected to Northern Europe via Switzerland and Germany.

In summary, during the year 2021, the infrastructure of DESFA contributed substantially to the diversification of gas supply sources and to the strengthening of the level of security of supply both in Greece and in the wider region. The liberalization of the energy market and the regulated Third Party Access (TPA) regime, under which DESFA provides access to the NSRF, promotes competition between gas suppliers for the benefit of the final consumer. Third party access (TPA) is governed by the provisions of the European Union and national law, ensuring open access to any interested party.