North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said that the country will invest more than 380 million euros in 25 % stake in 800 MW gas-fired power plant and 10 % stake in LNG terminal. State-owned National Energy Resources (MER) and power utility ESM have signed a Memoranda of Cooperation (MoC) on investments in the projects for the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Alexandroupoli in northern Greece and nearby gas-fired power plant.
MER signed a MoC on the acquisition of 10 % stake in LNG terminal with the Copelouzos Group, a shareholder in the project’s operator Gastrade, while ESM signed a MoC with Gastrade on the reservation of capacity at the terminal and another one with Damco Energy, also a part of the Copelouzos Group, on the acquisition of 25 % stake in gas-fired power plant.
The Alexandroupoli LNG project, for which Gastrade has obtained a license in 2011, envisages the construction of LNG storage facility with the capacity of 170,000 cubic meters, which could supply 17 million cubic meters of gas per day to Greek gas network. With the construction of gas interconnection between Greece and Bulgaria, the investors are considering options to supply natural gas to the entire Balkan region. The project supports, complements and works in harmony with, the other existing or planned key gas infrastructure projects in the region such as the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector (IGB), TAP, the Bulgaria-Serbia interconnector, the Greece-North Macedonia interconnector, the Kavala underground gas storage and the Revythoussa LNG terminal. The consortium for the construction of the terminal should comprise of Gastrade (20 %), Gaslog (20 %), Greek Public Gas Corporation DEPA (20 %), now through DEPA Trade, Greek natural gastransmission system operator DESFA (20 %) and Bulgarian Energy Holding BEH through Bulgartransgaz (20 %).
