The ports are coffins for energy transfer

By Anastasia Vamvaka

The strategic position of the ports of Greece is mainly connected with the international trade, with the country having more than 900 ports, the 700 active. In recent years, however, Greece has been stepping up its role on the world energy chessboard, with the Russian-Ukrainian city accelerating developments and needs. With the recent visit of the Prime Minister to the White House sealing the dominant role of the port of Alexandroupolis in the supply of liquefied natural gas of the Balkans and Eastern Europe, the position of Greece as a key ally in the effort to withdraw from Russia is strengthened.

The completion of the projects of the three liquefied gas terminals under construction and under approval (FSRU I, II and Gas Canal), combined with the upgrade of Revythousa, which acquires a short and fourth reservoir, will take place, After its dominant role in the transport of containers.

Mr Mitsotakis, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said: “The port of Alexandroupolis, northeast of Greece, to add that the capital of Evros “is rapidly becoming a regional energy hub and entry point for liquefied natural gas in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. And Greece plans to play an important role as a gateway to electricity generated by “Sources, mainly from the sun, in the Middle East and Africa. And you are very happy, because the United States has provided their unwavering support.”

For his part, US President Joe Biden said that “the two nations work together in all areas: climate and energy, trade, investment and defense, disaster relief and more”, with the exception of discuss the role of Alexandroupolis.

South Corridor

Crossing six countries with a length of 3,500 km, the Southern Gas Corridor is one of the most complex gas value chains ever developed. With the participation of more than twelve leading energy companies, the Southern Corridor is made up of leading energy projects with a total investment of $ 40 billion. The role of the Southern Corridor in the transport of natural gas to the Balkans and Eastern Europe is important, in order for it to become independent from Moscow.

In the next few years, as soon as the IGB is operational from June, the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector pipeline, more and more liquefied gas from the USA, Qatar, Egypt, Algeria and elsewhere will reach the Balkans.

In November 2023, “Orpheus”, the first floating platform (FSRU) for storage and gasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG), will be “moored” off the port of Alexandroupolis. The Height of “Orpheus” is 300 µ. and will anchor at a distance of 17.6 km from the coast, at a point where the water has a depth of 40 meters, to be an ionic housing for Greece and Southeastern Europe – a natural gas feeder. Every two weeks, with the help of tugs, a large tanker loaded with 145,000-180,000 hp will be moored with him. LNG. From Alexandroupolis, by submarine pipelines from the reefs of the ship the gas will be transported to the coast and from there it will be channeled to the National Gas Transmission System, but also to another point with TAP. From Kototini, through the IGB, it will be led to Bulgaria, Romania, possibly Ukraine, while at the height of Thessaloniki another branch will lead the natural gas to Northern Macedonia.

In addition to the pipelines, the FSRU will be able to tranship LNG to Smaller vessels, with a storage capacity of 3,000-20,000 cubic meters, which will approach the port of Alexandroupolis and from there will supply natural gas to trucks for off-grid customers. , respectively, the transhipment on trains can work. The total investment budget of the FSRU of Alexandroupolis amounts to approximately 400,000,000 euros, with the support of the EU, and except for Greece Bulgaria (20%) and Cyprus.

The American side sees the northern Helladic city as the basis for further weakening of Moscow’s energy sovereignty. Based on the capacity of the Alexandroupolis floating terminals along with Revythousa, there is a total capacity of 21.4 billion cubic meters of LNG, capable of making Greece a net exporter of natural gas.

“Egnatia Port”: Iguenitsa, Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alexandroupoli

Equally important, however, is the utilization of the potentials of the ports of Iguenitsa, Thessaloniki, Kavala, as it is a critical parameter for economic and social development with varied and multiplier benefits both at the level of Northern Greece and at national and national level. European level. The interconnection of the ports via the Egnatia Odos and their connection to the railway network is considered particularly beneficial, as it will lead to the upgrading of the strategic role of the ports and will change the transport map as a whole. The planned new European Routes (Western Balkans and Baltic – Black Sea – Aegean) create new data for the ports of Egnatia, as, when the multimodal connections are completed, commercial goods and energy will move from the North to the Egnatia. Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. A negative development, which creates new delays, seems to be the re-evaluation of the tender process in the light of international developments and regulatory obligations in the energy market for the underground gas storage in Kavala.

Republished from the special edition of Forbes magazine “Poseidonia 2022”

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