Page 7 - FSUOGM Week 29 2021

FSUOGM COMMENTARY FSUOGM

Excelerate Energy,
Snam and Albpetrol
signed a memorandum
of understanding
on building the gas
pipeline.

operator earlier this month on building a gas Kosovo, while also taking advantage of new
exit point at Fier, which would enable Albania to sources of supply entering the region.
access the pipeline’s gas. The manager noted how the company could
Albgaz CEO Arber Avrami also referred play a role in the Vlora regasification project.
to the Dumrea gas storage project as a poten- “We’ve done some studies to have an LNG
tial option for the partners’ development. The terminal close to Vlora that would absolutely
project has been discussed for years, but has make sense to us with the infrastructure of
never made movement, owing to a lack of pro- TAP and IGB, which would allow possible
gress with necessary import and gasification swaps or reverse flows,” Yuliya Georgieva, gas
initiatives. origination and trading manager at Overgas,
The collaboration with Snam and Excelerate said.
“can offer energy security options not only for Linden framed its investment in Overgas as
Albania but also reliable energy supply for inter- part of the Three Seas Initiative, a fund involv-
national gas networks.” ing 12 EU member states in Central and Eastern
Europe that was set up in 2016 largely to coun-
Other inroads ter countries’ economic reliance on Russia. The
US investors are also making inroads in the Bul- key focus of TSI is backing gas infrastructure
garian energy market, which has traditionally investments, with the current roster of pro-
been dominated heavily by Russia’s Gazprom. jects it supports including a gas link being built
US-based Linden Energy earlier this month between Poland and Lithuania, planned LNG
struck a deal to buy Bulgarian gas trader Over- terminals in Croatia and Estonia, and the Ionic
gas, following the departure in 2020 of Gaz- Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), slated to run through
prom as its previous investor. Linden pitched the Balkans.
the acquisition as helping Bulgaria diversify its Montenegro is another country that lacks a
energy mix, potentially through the import of gas grid, and would benefit from gas supply to
US LNG. help it reduce reliance on coal. Last year US offi-
These supplies would come from Greece’s cials visited that nation as well to discuss build-
Revithoussa regasification terminal near Ath- ing a regasification terminal, but no agreements
ens, or a planned second terminal in Alexan- were reached on the project.
droupolis, where a final investment decision While yielding few results, the short-lived
(FID) is yet to be taken. They will be delivered Trump administration aggressively sought to
via the 3bn cubic metre per year Interconnector expand the space for US LNG in Europe and
Greece-Bulgaria, due online next year, provid- undermine Russia’s own position in the conti-
ing the Bulgarian market with its first alternative nent’s energy market. Protecting the interests of
to Russian market. Linden said it would reserve US LNG exporters is less a priority for the Biden
10% of the pipeline’s capacity. leadership, however, which is more focused on
Overgas is eager to expand in the Western developing clean energy and decarbonising the
Balkans region, its trading manager told ICIS US economy. Yet progress in Albania shows
on July 19. Specifically, it is looking at trading there are still those in Washington working to
opportunities in countries such as Albania and build up the US LNG position in Europe. ™

Week 29 21•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7