Natural gas transmission system operator DESFA said that Greece has cut Russian gas imports by more than half this year thanks to increased deliveries from other producers to its sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) Revythoussa terminal.
Greece has relied on Russia for about 40 % of its gas needs for years but it has increased LNG purchases from other countries in line with a European Union plan to cut dependence on Russian energy. It has been receiving Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline which also delivers to Hungary via Serbia.
Its LNG Revythoussa facility can store 225,000 cubic meters of gas and regasify 1,400 cubic meters per hour.
DESFA CEO Maria Rita Galli said that the LNG terminal is attracting growing interest from domestic and regional importers and has played a pivotal role in the country’s energy strategy and its efforts to boost security of supplies ahead of winter. In the context of the energy crisis, Revythoussa is the import infrastructure, the import terminal that is enabling different sources of supply, different sources of LNG to reach the Greek gas market. Already this year, having maximized the use of Revithoussa, the imports of gas from Russia dropped from 40 % to less than 20 %.
With increased demand for LNG across the world, cargoes arriving in Revithoussa have doubled year -on-year. Bulgaria has also been importing LNG through the terminal after being cut off from Russian supplies following its refusal to pay in rubles.
In July, DESFA leased a floating storage unit (FSU), which is moored close to Revythoussa terminal and can boost its storage capacity by an additional 145,000 cubic meters of gas. The FSU is expected to remain there until the end of 2023, while DESFA is looking into a permanent solution that would involve the purchase of a vessel that could be connected to Revythoussa with a pipeline.
Nearly two-thirds of 6.5 billion cubic meters of gas that Greece consumes annually is used for electricity generation.
