The significant benefits of Liquefied Natural Gas

Significant are the benefits that the port of Igoumenitsa can receive, from its energy transition to Liquefied Natural Gas. This was emphasized at an event on “Environment and Energy in the Eastern Mediterranean” held as part of the European Poseidon Med II program, during the 2nd Scientific Conference on Port Management, Organization and Development (PDMO 2021)*.

The benefits of Liquefied Natural Gas, as the speakers pointed out, are operational, economic, environmental as well as long-term strategic and related to employment, competitiveness and sustainability, which were all topics of discussion.

The participants in the discussion called on the competent bodies to work harmoniously to settle a number of technical and legislative aspects that will accelerate the implementation of the LNG supply infrastructure installation project, contributing to the upgrading of the port of Igoumenitsa to the new energy map of the eastern Mediterranean.

In particular, during the discussion, the course of design of the LNG Small Scale installation was presented by Dr. Christos Solomonidis of ROGAN & Associates, who moderated the discussion, putting on the table individual issues related to the location of the facility while presenting a series of technical and environmental studies implemented under PMEDII.

Special emphasis was given to the legislative framework. Anastasia Kouvertari from Lloyd’s Register briefly presented the regulatory framework for the supply of LNG vessels with reference to the relevant Presidential Decree (64/2019), as well as the main pillars of the Port Manuals developed under Poseidon Med II, which include practical and guiding principles for the supply of LNG vessels as well as a specialized training development framework for the personnel involved.

Professor of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Dimitrios Lyridis referred to the issue of holistic optimization of energy ports and how to achieve it.

Responding to the challenges posed by the new EU regulations and policies on carbon-related pollutants, the Professor referred to the development of ports as energy hubs, highlighting the range of their activities related to the operation of the network, storage and energy trading, with the participation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The presentation of the Professor of the University of Piraeus, Vassilios Tselentis, who referred to the concept of “Smart Ports”, moved in the same spirit.

* The 2nd Scientific Conference on Port Administration, Organization and Development (PDMO 2021) was organized by the University of West Attica and the Igoumenitsa Port Authority.