Page 8 - EurOil Week 01 2021

EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

Gazprom signs new gas deals

with Greek, Turkish firms

EUROPE GAZPROM has signed new gas deals with Gazprom also struck a four-year contract
Greek and Turkish importers, although pricing to deliver 5.75 bcm of gas annually to Turkey’s
Pricing details were not details have not been disclosed. Botas starting this month. The contract replaces
disclosed. Greek gas utility DEPA Commercial has a previous agreement that expired at the end of
signed a deal for Russian gas supplies up until December that covered only 4 bcm of supply.
2026, it said on January 4. The company said the Botas may have difficulty keeping up with
agreement followed months of talks and pro- payments to Gazprom, however, according to a
vided favourable terms, including “very com- report by Bloomberg on January 6. The agency
petitive pricing” compared with European gas said that the Turkish state company was strug-
prices from 2022, without elaborating. Greek gling to raise billions of dollars to pay an import
Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said the contract bill to Gazprom due early this year. Botas is
would help protect Greek households from high not only contending with higher energy prices
wholesale gas prices that have gripped Europe in but also the devaluation of the lira, which has
recent months. inflated costs.
While neither Gazprom nor DEPA have According to Bloomberg, Botas is seeking a
commented on the price mechanism, Reu- $2bn loan to cover the repayments, but so far it
ters reported that the gas price would be 80% has only secured around $365mn. Discussions
indexed to the Dutch TTF hub and 20% to oil for the amount have faltered in recent weeks, the
prices in 2022. DEPA will continue receiving agency said, as banks are reluctant to extend a
2bn cubic metres of gas annually, the news foreign currency loan given the extreme volatil-
agency said. ity in gas prices and the lira.
DEPA is not the only Greek company that Gazprom also sells gas to a number of pri-
imports Russian gas, with Gazprom also count- vate importers in Turkey including Akfel Gaz,
ing Prometheus Gas and Mytilineos as its cus- Enerco Enerji and Avrasya Gaz, which extended
tomers in the country. It delivered a record 3 bcm their contracts in late December, ICIS recently
of gas to Greece in the first 11 months of 2021. reported. ™

EIB provides €29mn loan for Macedonia-

Greece gas link

MACEDONIA THE European Investment Bank (EIB) is pro- The interconnector has been classified as a
viding a €28.9mn loan for the construction of the project of mutual interest by the Energy Com-
The project is a project North Macedonia’s section of the gas intercon- munity, and is one of the flagship investments
of common European nector with Greece, the EIB announced. outlined in the Economic and Investment Plan
interest. The project, which is of strategic significance that will future-proof the region’s energy supply.
for North Macedonia, will enhance energy “Implementation of this project will provide
security by diversifying gas supply sources in stability in the energy supply, above all in the
the country and the Western Balkans and will field of industry, thus contributing to economic
also help integrate North Macedonia into future growth in all regions of North Macedonia. Pro-
major gas infrastructure projects. ject implementation will help to ensure acceler-
In addition to the loan, the country will ated and sustainable economic growth, higher
receive a €12.4mn grant from the Western Bal- living standards and a better quality of life for
kans Investment Framework (WBIF) for techni- our people,” North Macedonia’s Finance Minis-
cal assistance and project implementation. ter Fatmir Besimi said.
The project relates to the construction of a Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the
68 km long gas interconnector section in North EIB has invested €144mn in North Macedonia
Macedonia, starting from the border with under the Team Europe initiative to support the
Greece, near Gevgelija and ending near the town faster recovery of small and medium enterprises
of Negotino. and the development of vital infrastructure. ™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 01 06•January•2022