Gastrade, a GasLog-backed project to build a floating LNG import terminal in Greece, has won ironclad approval from its shareholders to go ahead.
Peter Livanos-led Gaslog and four non-shipping entities participating in the project signed a final investment decision (FID) on Thursday, Gastrade said in an announcement on Friday.
“The FID is the last and most important milestone before entering the project’s construction phase,” the statement said.
Provisionally valued at $420m, the project was originally scheduled for completion within 2020. Operations are now thought to begin at the end of 2023.
Gastrade was founded by Greek businesswoman Elmina Copelouzou, who then gradually sold four equal 20% stakes in the project to GasLog, Greece’s natural gas company DEPA and grid operator DESFA, as well as Bulgarian state company Bulgartransgaz.
The floating storage and regasification unit with a storage capacity of 170,000 cbm will be built offshore at Alexandroupolis, a northern Greek town close to the country’s borders with Turkey and Bulgaria.
A 28-km pipeline will connect the FSRU to the natural gas grid of Greece and countries beyond, including Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine.
Contracted regasification capacity already reached half Gastrade’s technical annual supply capacity of 5.5bn cbm, the company said.
Apart from its 20% stake in Gastrade, GasLog will participate in the project by converting one of its own ships to serve the FSRU, which GasLog will subsequently also maintain and operate.
“GasLog invested and supported the work from the very beginning and we are especially delighted that we reached today’s outcome,” said Paolo Enoizi, who represented Gaslog Cyprus Investments.
