Posted on 05/04/2022 11:10:15 AM PDT by BeauBo
Greece and Bulgaria said on Tuesday a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility to be built off the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis would help create a new gas route for Europe and cut reliance on Russian gas at a crucial moment...
Greece has been supplying Bulgaria with gas since it was cut off by Russia...
The new FSRU (a floating storage and regasification unit), which will be anchored about 18 kilometers (11 miles) off Alexandroupolis port and carry gas to the shore via a 28 kilometer long pipeline, is expected to start operations at the end of 2023.
It will be able to regasify 5.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of LNG annually and store 153,500 cubic meters.
Greece has one LNG terminal off Athens. With the new Alexandroupolis terminal and other projects in the pipeline, it could triple its regasification capacity by the end of 2023, Mitsotakis said.
The Alexandroupolis terminal will be built by Gastrade, owned by Greece’s Copelouzos family, at a cost of 360 million euros ($378 million).
Greek gas utility DEPA, Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz and Greek gas operator DESFA are also participating in the project, which will complement a new gas link between the Greek town of Komotini and Bulgaria’s Stara Zagora, the so-called Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB), expected to become operational later this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at financialpost.com ...
The big picture is European independence from Russian oil by the end of this year (8 months away), and Russian gas by the end of next year.
On the other side of the equation, there is virtually no new investment in infrastructure capacity for Russia to export to new markets - which is inherently more difficult and expensive, due to geography and distance. Russia is hurtling (in terms of infrastructure timeframes) toward an epic implosion of their export capacity, as the pipelines to Europe run dry.
So if there are no delays, they have only two very, very cold winters?
And if the Arab States (and Israel) prevail and win over Syria and see the Russians tossed out, new pipelines from the gulf producers will head to Europe.
Biden most likely thinks he can cancel it!
Agree on oil, but 2026 is more realistic for gas... Large terminals and the associated source capabilities and transport vessels won’t appear overnight.
“So if there are no delays, they have only two very, very cold winters?”
Just this next one. This facility, and many others, will be online for the following Winter (’23-’24).
Russia on the other hand, likely faces a few much poorer Winters.
“Agree on oil, but 2026 is more realistic for gas”
They are planning to replace alternative fuels for gas where possible (like electricity generation), to speed the shutoff of Russian gas. So demand will decrease, as alternative supplies are brought online.
Scoldilox is saddened
“They are planning to replace alternative fuels for gas where possible (like electricity generation), to speed the shutoff of Russian gas. So demand will decrease, as alternative supplies are brought online.”
They can do all the ‘planning’ they want, but they STILL have an anti-nuke Green Party now running energy policy in Germany, for example, and they STILL depend on the US (Biden) to fill those (now) non-existent LNG Tankers that will dock at their (now) non-existent LNG ports. So, again, maybe possible in 4 years, assuming they can find countries that have both the resources and a government that will allow increased gas production (i.e., not the US).
And keep in mind, that without being hell-bent on Putin, it would take them at least 10 years, maybe 20 years to otherwise do what they’re talking about.
“So, again, maybe possible in 4 years” (totally replacing Russian gas supplies to Europe)
I appreciate what you are saying, and concede that your estimate is more mainstream than mine. But it based on current policies and budgets.
I expect the war to drag on, and pressures to mount higher and higher to get off of Russian gas, rather than remain on that current deliberate timeframe. I expect that they will have to ramp it up to emergency measures.
The enemy gets a vote, and Russia may repeatedly resort to shutdowns as a weapon - they often have. If Russia goes to full mobilization, that might also create more of a sense of urgency. If NATO gets drawn in to the conflict, they will likely be off of Russian gas right then.
When push comes to shove, gas can be rationed to critical, and then priority purposes. Shutting off the Russian pipelines will hurt, but not kill, especially after this coming Winter has passed.
Well that’ll work as long as the magical unicorns keep filling it.
I’ll call this a draw as we can only watch and wait - the Greens in Germany, at least, are clear that they will never allow a repreive on nuclear, although they’ve been more flexible on coal. I think their fear with nuclear is that once the reactors get re-fueled, they’ll have to run for 20 years (or more), far longer than any Ukraine timetable, and long after the Earth is already destroyed. Coal, while far more polluting, can be shut down almost overnight.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.