International maritime corporation GasLog recently acquired
a 20 percent stake in Greece’s Gastrade S.A., which is behind the development
of a floating LNG receiving, storage and regasification unit (FSRU) offshore of
Alexandroupolis.
The acquisition was recently finalized following an
announcement late last year and the subsequent requisite approvals. GasLog
boasts a fleet of 27 LNG carriers and will bring its expertise in LNG carrier
management and operation. It will also have material contributions to Gastrade’s Alexandroupolis project, which is a European Project of Common Interest and a
priority EU energy infrastructure.
Set for development almost 11 miles from the Alexandroupolis harbor,
the project will benefit the Balkan region through increased energy security
and boosted competition, earning it approval from the Greek and Bulgarian
governments. The FSRU will have a 44.9 million gallon capacity, allowing it to feed 1.6 trillion gallons of gas into the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System each
year. The facility will be directly connected to the system via a 17-mile pipeline, which will allow it to supply Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Ukraine. It will connect these LNG
consumers with producers and suppliers from the U.S., Cyprus, Israel, Qatar and
Algeria, among others.
