EC approves $199m in Greek state aid for LNG terminal

The European Commission (EC) has approved a $199m (€166.7m) support measure by Greece to build a new LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis.

The Greek funding has been approved under EU state aid rules.

According to the Commission’s findings, the aid is appropriate and necessary as the project would not be executed without public support.

The project will be funded by the Greek State using European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), with Gastrade serving as the promoter and operator.

The aim is to support the security and diversification of energy supplies in the country and in the Southeast Europe region.

European Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said: “The new LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis will improve gas supply and infrastructure not only in Greece but in the whole South-Eastern European region. This will contribute to the achievement of the EU’s goals in terms of security and diversification of energy supply.

“The Greek support measure limits the aid to what is necessary to make the project happen and sufficient safeguards will be in place to ensure that potential competition distortions are minimised.”

The LNG terminal, which is also expected to boost security for Bulgaria and the wider South Eastern European region, will comprise a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) for the reception, storage, and regasification of LNG.

With a delivery capacity of 5.5 billion cubic metres per year, the FSRU will be stationed approximately 17.6km from the town of Alexandroupolis, at an offshore distance of nearly 10km from the nearest shore.

The terminal will also feature a system of a sub-sea and an onshore gas transmission pipeline to connect the FSRU to the National Natural Gas System of Greece (NNGS).

The commission said in a statement: “Given its strategic importance for the diversification of natural gas supplies into the South-eastern European region, the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis has been included in the lists of European Project of Common Interest in the energy sector, based on the EU TEN-E (‘Trans-European Network for Energy’) rules since 2013.”