Greek PM: The first concern of the government is the energy adequacy of the country

“The first concern of the government is to ensure the energy adequacy of the country. At the same time, we are struggling to achieve the lowest possible energy prices for consumers, households and businesses “, noted the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during his visit to the facilities of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on Revythousa island.

“I want to reiterate that we are facing an unprecedented explosion in gas prices. This problem is imported. “A problem that concerns the whole of Europe and that is why I have personally fought for a pan-European answer to a problem that is not purely national, it is European,” said the Prime Minister, who earlier toured the island and was given a tour of the terminal facilities by the Managing Director of DESFA, Maria Rita Galli.

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“In any case, however, the government is committed to continuing to support energy consumers through a subsidy scheme that will continue next month. And in the event that there is no European answer to this problem, I want all Greeks to know that the Greek Government is ready to take significant additional measures to absorb as much of the increase in electricity bills as possible, as can be allowed by the budget margins,” noted Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“Today we visited Revythousa with the Prime Minister, and Ms. Maria Rita Galli, CEO of the DESFA Consortium informed us about the projects that will be implemented in the next period that increase the capacity of Revythousa, increase the capacity to receive boats with liquefied natural gas. “This gives Greece the opportunity to increase its energy independence in terms of receiving natural gas,” said Minister of Environment and Energy Costas Skrekas.

Large investment

“Greece has made a large investment in recent years with the aim of increasing the resilience of the National Natural Gas System, through the expansion of Revythousa in 2019, and through the interconnection with the Trans-Adriatic Natural Gas Pipeline (TAP) a few years ago. And that puts us, of course, in a much stronger position than we would have been otherwise. We are working tirelessly not only to maintain and guarantee the capacity of the terminal at 100%, but also to strengthen -as expected- its capacity to accept more ships, as well as to expand its capacity to refuel and serve needs of the market “, noted, among others, the CEO of DESFA, Maria Rita Galli.

DESFA is considering the addition of a Floating Storage Unit (FSU) to the Revythousa Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal, increasing the total available storage capacity from 225,000 m3 to more than 380,000 m3.
At the same time, DESFA is expected to strengthen the possibility of re-gasification of the terminal by 12%.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis also talked to the employees and the executives of DESFA, while he saw up close the operation of the control center of the terminal. The Prime Minister was accompanied on his visit by the Minister of Environment and Energy Costas Skrekas, the Secretary General of Energy and Mineral Resources Alexandra Sdoukou, and the Head of the Managing Authority of the Operational Program “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” Aggeliki Fetsi.

The LNG Terminal of Revythousa

– The Revythousa Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal is the only LNG Terminal in Greece at the moment and one of the most important energy infrastructures for Greece and the wider region of Southeastern Europe.

– It has a total storage capacity of 225,000 m3 LNG, consisting of two tanks of 65,000 m3 each and one larger, with a capacity of 95,000 m3.

– The port of Revythousa can accommodate ships from 25,000 to 266,000 m3 LNG, a size that corresponds to the largest LNG transport ships in the world, with a length of about 355 meters.

– Strategically located, close to some of the most consumer-rich areas, such as Attica and Boeotia, Revythousa can supply natural gas to both the Greek market and the markets of neighboring countries, through the existing interconnection with Bulgaria and the future interconnection with North Macedonia.

– It’s a crucial infrastructure for Greece, as it guarantees security of supply and allows the diversification of gas supply sources, providing operational flexibility in the transmission system, as well as increased capacity to meet the maximum gas demand. It is the only Entry Point of the network that injects natural gas in the Southern part of the country.

– In addition to its key role in the day-to-day operation of the National Gas System, the Revythousa Terminal has proven its strategic importance in the past, as during the first gas crisis in Ukraine in 2009, it effectively provided the Bulgarian market with LNG for some days, through a reverse flow of natural gas to Bulgaria from the connection point of Sidirokastro.

– In 2021, Revythousa covered almost one third (31.8%) of total gas imports in Greece, while in the first quarter of 2022 Revythousa became the main gateway for natural gas in the country, covering 43.23% of of our imports, upon receipt of 21 LNG shipments from 6 countries (USA, Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Oman and Indonesia).untry.