Revealing Greece's Natural Gas Strategy
The international conference "The future of Greek Gas and Power Markets: Looking ahead with optimism and realism" took place on 29 April, 2014 in Athens, where important aspects of Greece's natural gas strategy were made available.
To begin, Greek Energy Minister Ioannis Maniatis laid out the main pillars regarding his portfolio. The chief task to be completed is the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is a vital element of the wider Southern Corridor, a complex system of pipelines, which apart from TAP is comprised of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), aiming to open up Azeri gas to the wider EU markets and in significant outflows. Greek energy strategists further develop this new route by adding in the energy mix their ideas including the Aegean-Baltic Corridor (ABC), a new concept, which is basically a trial by seven countries ranging from Greece to Poland to interconnect their natural gas transmission networks so as to be able to ship gas all the way and in reverse flows. In 2016 the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) should be ready, thus signalling the first crucial step towards that aim.
Moreover, Athens is pushing forward along with the rest of the EU the so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI) that will be heavily funded by Brussels. At that point Greece has included its 80% capacity increase of the Revythousa LNG terminal which will aim to boost Greece's ability to supply and further diversify southeast Europe's gas systems. Further, two more projects - floating LNG stations - were included as PCI's, with at least one to get an eventual go ahead in the coming years. The goal is to upgrade incoming transit gas inflows within the country by at least 5bcm per annum.
It is important to note that in order for these projects to be able to deliver the excess gas amounts, the Greek energy ministry is formulating plans to install more gas compressors and include reverse flow capacity in all pipeline plans, as well as, adequate storage facilities. Another Greek goal is the establishment of a natural gas pricing hub in the country that will include the rest of the southeast European states.
Another important aspect is the finalization of the East Med pipeline, a proposed plan to bring gas from the Israeli and Cypriot offshore reserves into mainland Greece and add it to the future gas mix as described previously. Nevertheless, the complicated state of affairs in the region has dampened Greek aspirations, with Athens carefully assessing if the route could be of significance for the mid-term or that would need longer-term planning.
The overall strategy is also filled with ongoing processes to enact research and exploration for oil and gas in western and southern Greece, with first results to be made available within the coming couple of years. Previous research and scientific assessments have showed off reliable indications for hydrocarbons, in certain parts of the country, such as the Ioannina region, West Peloponnese and offshore Thessaloniki area. Concurrently the local research and academic sector is increasing its efforts to educate a younger generation of energy professionals and further it can be said that the Greek state place increased attention into putting energy and especially gas issues into the spotlight of national agenda.
Last but not least, the Greek merchant marine industry is boosting its efforts to become one of the largest global transporters of LNG, whilst lobbying heavily for the introduction of LNG as a preferred fuel for commercial and ferry vessels. That alone provides yet another opportunity for the country to establish regional refueling LNG bunkers.