Greek energy minister: Nat’l distributor in talks with Gazprom over 2024 supplies

Greece’s relevant energy minister on Thursday confirmed that DEPA Commercial, the natgas supplier and distributor in the east Mediterranean country, is in negotiations with energy giant Gazprom over rates and conditions for acquiring Russian gas next year.

Minister Theodoros Skylakakis essentially confirmed a report by ot.gr, from a day earlier, by which the two sides are negotiating the “take or pay” clause, among others. The latter envisages a penalty for quantities that DEPA initially orders but does not actually receive.

Skylakakis expressed concern over cited rates for Russian natural gas, but also over the share that this specific fuel retains in the domestic market.

“Europe has managed to reduce the volume of Russian gas (it consumes) from 40 percent to 9 percent…In Greece, however, this isn’t the case,” the minister said.

As previously reported by ot.gr, Russian natural gas imported by Greece over the first nine months of 2023, either via the Turk Stream pipeline or from LNG maritime tankers, comprised 40 percent of the total.

However, other unconfirmed reports claim the actual figure is closer to 60 percent over the Jan-Sep 2023 period.