The Alexandroupoli LNG terminal, located off Greece’s northeastern coast, was scheduled to resume operations soon, but its operator, Gastrade, has announced that the facility will remain offline for another month. Since its initial shutdown in late January, the company has not disclosed the specific nature of the malfunction.
With gas storage levels in the European Union now below 40%, the extended outage of the Alexandroupoli LNG terminal raises concerns about gas supply stability in southeastern Europe. The terminal, which plays a crucial role in supporting the natural gas market in the region, was initially expected to resume service by the end of February. However, Gastrade has pushed back the restart date to March 31, nearly doubling the downtime.
The issue was first reported on January 23, when Gastrade indicated that the terminal would operate at a limited capacity. However, no gas deliveries occurred during this period, and by January 28, the company confirmed that the entire reception, storage, and regasification system for liquefied natural gas (LNG) was offline.
The terminal, which launched in early October 2024, was designed to supply up to 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually. It features a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) capable of holding 153,500 cubic meters of LNG. Despite its limited activity since opening, Gastrade’s announcement has raised questions about the severity of the technical issue and its cause.
Though the terminal’s extended downtime has intensified market uncertainty, its impact on gas supply in the Balkans remains limited. The facility has only secured a few contracts, and Bulgaria’s public gas supplier, Bulgargaz, has arranged sufficient gas imports from Turkey to meet its needs for now.
