Greece could add up to four new LNG import terminals over the next few years as it moves to provide energy security of the country and its neighbours in the Mediterranean region, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Speaking at the World LNG Summit & Awards in Athens, which is taking place in the Greek capital for the first time, Prime Minister Mitsotakis told delegates that if they returned in a few years time they should not be surprised to see “two, three or maybe four” new LNG terminals in the country .
The PM said Greece’s LNG imports had increased by 50% in 2022.
He highlighted that the country has already added a floating storage unit at its currently lone existing land-based terminal Revithoussa LNG which he said has increased LNG import capacity by around 65%.
The prime minister said the planned floating storage and regasification unit for Alexandroupolis is due to be in place at the end of 2023 or early in 2024.
He said gas pipeline capacity is also expanding.
Greece’s Minister of the Environment & Energy Konstantinos Skrekas said a final investment decision on another FSRU-backed facility at Corinth near Athens would be taken soon with three additional units licensed by the regulator.
Skrekas said Greece is set to import 80 LNG cargoes in 2022 compared to 39 in 2021.
The minister — who also highlighted that 13% of the current LNG carrier orderbook is controlled by Greek shipowners — said 44 import slots had already been reserved for 2023 and 40 for 2024.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis described Greece — whose economy he said is now growing at 6% in 2022 —as “an anchor in turbulent seas and exporter to our neighbours”.
He said Greece has made energy strategy a focal point and made “a strategic bet on natural gas” which will be an integral part of the mix. The country’s coal consumption has fallen by about 80% in a decade.
Mitsotakis said Greece managed to fill its gas storage this year but 2023 is going to be more difficult. “It is clear we need more LNG,” he added.
He spoke about wanting to see the region break away from Russia’s “stranglehold” on energy and said much of Europe’s energy security will be going through Greece
The PM said Greece plans to pursue bio-methane and hydrogen in the years ahead.
In 2022 Greece powered the country for six hours running purely on renewables this year, he said, but the country still needs to plan for the interim.
Mitsotakis said the country is also accelerating its own search for hydrocarbons, adding that it is clear that gas will be “with us” for some time.
He challenged the LNG industry to think about “innovative solutions” that can support energy security while not undermining the move to decarbonisation.
