Gastrade’s floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Alexandroupolis, former 2010-built LNG carrier GasLog Chelsea, has arrived in Greece after completing an almost 10-month conversion at Seatrium shipyard in Singapore.
The FSRU, which entered Keppel Shipyard in Singapore in early February 2023 for the regasification equipment to be installed, sailed away from Singapore on November 26 and entered the waters of the Thracian Sea of Greece on December 7.
As the next step, the FSRU Alexandroupolis will be anchored through a spread 12-point mooring system in the following days.
Then, it will connected to the 28-kilometer-long high-pressure subsea and onshore gas transmission pipeline, developed by Corinth Pipeworks , which, once operational, will deliver natural gas to the Greek Transmission System (NNGTS) and onwards to the final consumers in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia and further to Moldova and Ukraine to the East and Hungary and Slovakia to the West.
Upon completing all testing activities, the terminal is planned to be commercially operational in the first quarter of 2024 and will have a maximum sustainable regasification capacity of 5.5 billion cubic meters a year.
In October 2023, the European Commission, under EU State aid rules, greenlighted a €106 million Greek measure to support the completion of the construction of Gastrade’s DNV-classed LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis.
“Today, with the arrival of the first specially converted LNG Carrier of Gastrade, is for all of us an exceptional day,” said Elmina Copelouzou , Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Company and Founding Shareholder. “A day that signals the realization of the Floating Regasification Unit and paves the way to the commencement of the Alexandroupolis LNG project. A milestone for this borderland city which is set to become an energy hub for the entire Southeastern Europe.”
Managing Director of Gastrade, Kostis Sifnaios , commented: “For Alexandroupolis, it is a major project that will boost the local economy and employment, but above all, it will redefine the city’s coordinates on the world map as a critical hub for the energy security of the entire Central and SE Europe .
“ At the same time, the Project will establish yet another important pillar of National Security for Thrace, since it is part of the international and European strategy for diversification and independence of energy sources and transport routes from the historical monopolies. For our country, it is a big step in consolidating and upgrading its leadership role in the wider northern region and demonstrates how energy can become a tool for prosperity, peace, and solidarity.”