Gastrade shareholders decision opens path for construction of FRSU in Alexandroupolis

A final nod on Thursday by Gastrade shareholders to proceed with the construction of an independent natural gas system in the Alexandroupolis region – extreme northeast Greece — generated kudos from several involved parties a day later.

The company announced the unanimous taking of a “Final Investment Decision (FID)”, taken during a general assembly, clearing the way for construction of the landmark energy project, essentially a LNG terminal and specifically a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

The unit is billed as having a capacity of 153,500 square meters of liquefied natural gas, which will be connected to the national transmission grid via a 28-kilometer pipeline. LNG will then be supplied to the markets in Greece and Bulgaria, and quite probably, to the wider region, namely, Romania, Serbia North Macedonia, and even as far as Moldova and Ukraine.

According to Gastrade, the project will be operational by the end of 2023.

Among others, US ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt, who has recorded numerous visits to Aleandroupolis and the wider Thrace region over the past few years, took to his Twitter account to post that “…a big step forward for energy security and climate SE Europe. Congratulations all around”.

Gastrade board of directors chairwoman Elmina Copelouzou referred to a “… a new, important chapter in the energy security of the country and southeastern Europe. We are particularly happy that Gastrade has undertaken a critical project that is a priority for the European Union”.

A representative of Gaslog, one of the partners in the project, noted that “GasLog invested and supported the work from the very beginning and we are especially delighted that we reached today’s outcome. This work matters greatly to us since GasLog not only participates in the shareholders’ composition of Gastrade, but also, following the successful completion of the relevant competitive procedure, GasLog will be undertaking the conversion of one of our fleet vessels to FSRU, which will subsequently be transferred to Gastrade at the end of 2023”.