The Executive Director of Bulgartransgaz EAD Vladimir Malinov participated in an organized visit to the shipyard of Keppel Corporation in Singapore, where the floating unit for the liquefied gas terminal near Alexandroupolis is being constructed. The Executive Directors of the Greek gas transmission operator DESFA S.A., Gaslog Cyprus Investments Ltd. and Gastrade S.A also took part in the visit. On site, the project shareholders were informed about a potential delay in implementation of the activities. In this regard, they discussed measures to optimize the construction of the floating unit of the liquefied gas terminal near Alexandroupolis.
Malinov stressed the need to speed up the activities so that the terminal is ready in the shortest possible time. According to him, the commercial interest in the terminal in Alexandroupolis is increasingly high, which confirms the forecasts that the share of LNG supplies to European countries will continue to rise steadily in the coming years. "The terminal in Alexandroupolis is of key importance for the security of energy supplies and to guarantee competitive market conditions in the region. Our investment in the terminal is strategic and timely. The ensured synergy with the projects for expansion of the underground gas storage Chiren and Interconnection Bulgaria-Serbia is also significant," Malinov stated.
He also noted that Trakia LNG - the planned second LNG terminal of Gastrade, as well as the other projects for new terminals in Greece, will further increase the interest in gas transmission through Bulgaria from south to north.
Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System has a design capacity for regasification of 5.5 bcm/natural gas per year. The LNG storage capacity of the facility is 153,500 thousand m³. Among the potential sources of supply are countries producing liquefied natural gas such as the USA, Algeria, Qatar, etc. Bulgartransgaz is a shareholder with 20% of the capital of the project company Gastrade. The other shareholders DESFA, Gaslog, the Greek gas trader DEPA Commercial and Mrs. Elmina Copelouzou hold an equal share.
During his visit to Singapore, Malinov also participated in Gastech 2023 - a leading exhibition and conference in the field of natural gas, LNG, hydrogen and low-carbon solutions. Conference participants share the opinion that the role of natural gas in the energy transition is more important than ever, especially in terms of accessibility, security and reliability. The future of energy markets, the importance of hydrogen and new energy sources, and the innovations that will help achieve net carbon neutrality ambitions by 2050 were discussed.
