Greece will be able to completely replace Russian gas in 20 months with the completion of a floating storage and regasification station for liquefied natural gas (FSRU) in the port of Alexandroupolis, Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the ceremony of starting the construction of the station,Report informs citing RIA Novosti.
“Very soon, with this project and other projects, we will be able to replace natural gas from Russian sources. At the same time, our countries are ready to collectively take on a new role in the new energy map of Europe. The recent blackmailing of Russia over gas shows that such cooperation is not only necessary but is urgent," Mitsotakis said, stating that Greece's goal is to achieve energy sufficiency and help neighboring countries like Bulgaria.
“Over the next 20 months, Greece will be able to receive significant, very large quantities of liquefied natural gas. Regasification opportunities will amount to 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. In other words, this Greek LNG station is able to replace Russian natural gas completely, not only in the national market, but also to replace a significant part of Russian natural gas supplies in the Balkans, of course, in combination with the modernization of some pipelines and the construction of interconnectors," Mitsotakis said.
According to him, it is planned to speed up the construction of interconnectors Greece-Bulgaria and Bulgaria-Serbia, the pipeline Greece-North Macedonia. Gas can also be supplied to Romania and Moldova, said the Prime Minister of Greece.