Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Support for households will continue in May

Ensuring the country’s energy security, and lower energy prices, is the government’s top priority, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphatically stated on Tuesday morning, during his visit to the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on the island of Revythousa.

«The government's top priority is to ensure the country's energy security. At the same time, we are working hard to achieve the lowest possible energy prices for consumers, households, and businesses,» the Prime Minister specifically stated.

Mr. Mitsotakis made it clear that the problem of soaring energy prices is an imported one and requires a common European response, but he pledged that even if Europe fails to reach decisions, the government is determined to continue supporting energy consumers through a subsidy program that will continue into next month.

«I want to reiterate once again that we are facing an unprecedented surge in natural gas prices. This is an imported problem. It is a problem that affects all of Europe, and that is why I have personally fought for a pan-European response to a problem that is not purely national—it is European,’ the prime minister emphasized.

Earlier, Mr. Mitsotakis toured the island and was given a guided tour of the terminal facilities by DESFA’s CEO, Maria Rita Galli, and also spoke with DESFA employees and executives, while observing firsthand the operations of the terminal’s control center.

«In any case, the government is committed to continuing to support energy consumers through a subsidy program that will continue into next month. And in the event that there is no European response to this problem, I want all Greeks to know that the Greek government is ready to take significant additional measures to absorb as large a percentage of the increase in electricity bills as possible, as this is both possible and permissible within the fiscal margins,» Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated.

The Prime Minister was accompanied on his visit by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas, Secretary General for Energy and Mineral Resources Alexandra Sdoukou, and Head of the Managing Authority for the Operational Program «Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation,» Angeliki Fetsi.

“We are increasing our energy independence”

For his part, Minister of Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas referred to the possibility of increasing Greece’s energy independence:

«We visited Revythousa today with the Prime Minister. Ms. Maria Rita Galli, CEO of the DESFA Consortium, briefed us on the projects to be implemented in the near future that will increase Revythousa’s capacity, and expand the terminal’s capacity to accommodate ships carrying liquefied natural gas. »This will enable Greece to increase its energy independence with regard to natural gas imports,” said Mr. Skrekas.

DESFA CEO Maria Rita Galli noted, among other things, that Greece has made a significant investment in recent years with the aim of increasing the resilience of the National Natural Gas System, through the expansion of the Revythousa terminal in 2019 and the interconnection with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) a few years ago.

“And this, of course, puts us in a much stronger position than we would otherwise be in. We are working tirelessly not only to maintain and guarantee the terminal’s capacity at 100%, but also to enhance—as expected—its capacity to accommodate more ships, as well as to expand its ability to re-gas and meet market needs,» he noted, among other things.

Add a Floating Unit

DESFA—according to government officials—is considering adding a Floating Storage Unit (FSU) at the Revythousa Liquefied Natural Gas terminal, increasing the total available storage capacity from 225,000 m³ to more than 380,000 m³.

At the same time, DESFA is expected to proceed with increasing the terminal’s regasification capacity by 12%.

The Revythousa LNG Terminal

The Revythousa Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal is currently the only LNG terminal in Greece and one of the most important energy infrastructure projects for Greece and the broaderregion of Southeast Europe.

It has a total LNG storage capacity of 225,000 m³, consisting of two tanks, each with a capacity of 65,000 m³, and one larger tank with a capacity of 95,000 m³.

The Revythousa terminal can accommodate ships carrying between 25,000 and 266,000 m³ of LNG, a capacity corresponding to the world’s largest LNG carriers, which are approximately 355 meters long.

Strategically located near some of the regions with the highest consumption, such as Attica and Boeotia, Revythousa can supply natural gas to both the Greek market and the markets of neighboring countries, through the existing interconnection with Bulgaria and the future interconnection with North Macedonia.

It is a critical piece of infrastructure for Greece, as it guarantees security of supply and allows for the diversification of natural gas supply sources, providing operational flexibility to the transmission system, as well as an increased capacity to meet peak natural gas demand. It is the network’s only entry point that injects natural gas into the southern part of the country.

In addition to its key role in the day-to-day operation of the National Natural Gas System, the Revythousa Terminal has proven its strategic importance in the past as well; during the first natural gas crisis in Ukraine in 2009, it effectively supplied the Bulgarian market with LNG for several days through a reverse flow of natural gas to Bulgaria from the Sidirokastro interconnection point.

In 2021, Revythousa accounted for nearly one-third (31.8%) of Greece’s total natural gas imports, while in the first quarter of 2022, Revythousa became the country’s main natural gas entry point, accounting for 43.23% of our imports, with the receipt of 21 LNG shipments from 6 countries (the U.S., Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Oman, and Indonesia).

The Prime Minister's full statement is as follows:

«Here in Revythousa beats the heart of our country’s natural gas liquefaction facility. It is, truly, an impressive facility, and the consortium that operates it is ready to make additional investments to significantly increase Revythousa’s storage capacity.”.

This is extremely important, because the country must be prepared for the worst-case scenario of a complete cutoff of natural gas supplies from Russia, and we will be ready to address that possibility as well.

Liquefied natural gas is absolutely critical to our efforts to diversify our natural gas supply sources. In this plan, Revythousa—both in its current form and in its upgraded form—plays a decisive role. New investments, such as floating liquefied natural gas regasification facilities—like the one planned for Alexandroupoli—also play a decisive role.

The government’s top priority is to ensure the country’s energy security, but at the same time, we are working hard to achieve the lowest possible energy prices for consumers, households, and businesses.

I want to reiterate once again that we are facing an unprecedented surge in natural gas prices. This is an imported problem. It is a problem that affects all of Europe, which is why I have personally advocated for a pan-European response to a problem that is not purely national, but European.

In any case, however, the government has committed to continuing to support energy consumers through a subsidy program that will continue next month as well.

And in the event that there is no European response to this problem, I want all Greeks to know that the Greek government is prepared to take significant additional measures to absorb as large a portion of the increase in electricity bills as possible, as long as this is feasible and permitted by fiscal constraints.

»I would like to thank all the employees as well as the company's management for this facility, which is of critical importance to the country's energy security.".