Corinth Pipeworks awarded contract for the Alexandroupolis FSRU pipeline

The pipeline will connect the Alexandroupolis Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) to the National Natural Gas Transmission System of Greece for the transportation of gasified LNG to Northeastern Europe, with the prospect of also supplying Ukraine.

The Alexandroupolis FSRU is a floating LNG terminal that will provide 5.5m3 billions of natural gas annually when completed to the markets of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and North Macedonia. It will be permanently moored at a fixed point and at a distance of 17.6km SW from the port of Alexandroupolis and 10km from the nearest coast of Makri.

Corinth Pipeworks’ proposal was evaluated by contractor Saipem as the most advantageous, providing a both technically and economically feasible solution. The o er consists of 28km of 30” SAWL steel pipes, which also includes anti-corrosion coating and concrete weight coating. The entire quantity of pipes will be manufactured and externally coated at the company’s plant in Thisvi, Viotia, Greece. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2023.

The development of the pipeline plays a decisive role in the energy security of Greece and Southeastern Europe and contributes decisively to the smooth energy transition and heterogeneity of

Image courtesy of Gastrade.

supply to this extremely sensitive region. The pipeline’s construction and operation will also strengthen the strategic role of Greece as an energy hub for the wider region and will o er alternative sources and routes of natural gas supply, strengthening security of supply and energy autonomy, in a challenging period. The new infrastructure is tied to other interconnection projects, such as the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) that will be operational from September 2022, but also the important gas links between Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Through these recent and new projects, these countries will be able to reduce their dependency on Russian natural gas by diversifying their routes and sources of supply.

The pipeline is part of the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System project of Greece company Gastrade. The Final Investment Decision (FID) for the construction of the Alexandroupolis INGS project was taken in January by the shareholders of this company. Alexandroupolis INGS is included and financed by the Operational Program of the NSRF ‘Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation 2014-2020’ (EPAnEK), with an amount of public spending of EUR 166.7 million. The floating terminal is expected to operate by the end of 2023, with the contracted regasification capacity already reaching up to 50% of its technical capacity of 5.5m2 per year.