THE gas storage in Italy and secondarily in Bulgaria for ensuring security of supply τον next winter are the scenarios that the Ministry of Environment and Energy. THE ensuring a sufficient supply of natural gas in EU storage facilities is a key element of European security policy for the coming winter 2022 – 2023. Commission presented its proposals last week, according to which “Member States are obliged to ensure that their underground gas storage tanks are filled to at least 80% of their capacity by 1 November 2022, which will rise to 90% for the next years, while there will be intermediate targets for the period from February to October “.
For member countries that do not have warehouses natural gas – like Greece – there is an obligation to secure by November 1, agreements with countries that have warehouses, for quantities equivalent to 15% of annual gas consumption. In the case of Greece, the annual consumption of natural gas in 2020 was 5.8 billion cubic meters, which means that it is necessary to ensure a stored quantity of 0.9 billion cubic meters.
Gas storage has the Bulgaria, with which the Greek system of DESFA is interconnected (soon a second interconnection point will operate through the Greek-Bulgarian pipeline IGB). But Bulgaria’s underground warehouse has relatively limited capacity, of the order of 0.6 billion cubic meters. Multiples, of the order of 20 billion cubic meters is the capacity of warehouses in Italy, with which our country is interconnected through Albania with the TAP pipeline. Thus the required quantities can be secured on the basis of exchange agreements, with “retention” of natural gas intended for the Italian market. TAP, it is recalled, transports natural gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey, Greece and Albania to Italy and has been in operation since last year.
For security of supply of Greek market there is also the possibility of long-term mooring of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship at its facilities Revytousas, where LNG stored there is transported and gasified and transported there by ships. But for this option there is the question of cost and availability.
The proposal for a regulation published by the EU last week takes into account the worst-case scenarios for the gas market. In particular, it is pointed out that the prices of natural gas next summer (period of low consumption when the warehouses are full) may be higher than in winter, as well as the possibility of interrupting the supply of natural gas through pipelines.
THE Hellas has infrastructure appropriate for gas storage (is the depleted deposit of Kavala, with a capacity of 530 million cubic meters), but which can not be used immediately. The tender for the development and operation of the warehouse by the HRDH is pending. However, our country has one of the best security of supply indicators in the region as it has multiple sources and supply routes (Russian gas via Turkey – Bulgaria through pipelines not passing through Ukraine, Azeri gas via TAP pipeline, interconnection with Turkey, Liquefied Gas in Revythousa).
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
_155648.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
