Greece’s Gastrade expects to launch commercial operations at its FSRU-based LNG import terminal off Alexandroupolis by the end of April.
The 2018-built 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, GasLog Hong Kong, delivered on February 18 a commissioning cargo from the US to the 153,600-cbm Alexandroupolis.
The LNG carrier, chartered by France’s TotalEnergies, brought the shipment from Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant in Louisiana.
Following completion of the ship-to-ship LNG transfer, GasLog Hong Kong left the FSRU on February 27, a spokeswoman for Gastrade told LNG Prime on Thursday.
“At this time, a second cargo for commissioning purposes is not expected,” the spokeswoman said.
“If no major issues arise during the commissioning, the project will reach commercial operations by the end of April 2024,” she said.
Greece’s DEPA, who is a Gastrade shareholder, previously said that it brought the commissioning cargo to the FSRU.
Besides DEPA, Gastrade’s shareholders include founder Copelouzou, DESFA, Bulgartransgaz, and GasLog.
Greece’s first FSRU arrived in Alexandroupolis from Singapore on December 17 and mooring hook-up was completed on December 23, 2023.
The FSRU is located in the sea of Thrace at a distance of 17.6 km SW from the port of Alexandroupolis and 10 km from the nearest coast of Makri. Also, it is connected to a high-pressure subsea and onshore gas transmission pipeline.
Once operational, the pipeline will deliver natural gas to the Greek transmission system 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, Gastrade said.
The Alexandroupolis LNG terminal will have a capacity of 5.5 Bcm.
This is Greece’s second LNG import facility, adding to DESFA’s import terminal located on the island of Revithoussa.
