The government’s strategy for making Greece a natural gas export hub as well as green energy was presented by the Minister of Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas, speaking today at an international conference on Liquefied Natural Gas held in Athens. Mr. Skrekas underlined that natural gas exports from Greece have already reached 2.5 billion cubic meters this year compared to 0.7 last year, while the possibilities are multiplied with the addition of the new floating tank in Revythousa, which increases the capacity of the station by 65%.
“The capacity of Greece’s Liquefied Natural Gas nodes can reach 20 billion cubic meters per year in the next two years,” the minister said. He also emphasized that the interconnection with Bulgaria can extend the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas through Greece to Moldova and Ukraine.
Electrical connections
In the field of electricity, he particularly focused on the new interconnections with Bulgaria, Egypt and Cyprus, while repeating the proposal made by the government for a direct connection with Austria and Germany.
“The aim is to reduce dependence on a single supplier”, noted Mr. Skrekas, stressing that they need a common purchasing platform from the European Union that will increase the EU’s bargaining power, as well as long-term contracts in order to stabilize the market.
In his statements on the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Skrekas brought back the proposal for the creation of a central financial support mechanism for member states, citizens and businesses from the EU. “European industry is losing competitiveness, many businesses are reducing their production or closing down, we have a loss of jobs”, said Mr. Skrekas. He clarified that the proposal to impose a ceiling on the price of natural gas, which would ensure lower prices for natural gas and electricity, remains on the table. “We won’t rest,” he said characteristically, “until we succeed.”
