Page 5 - GLNG Week 29 2021

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG

on building a gas exit point at Fier, which would Kosovo, while also taking advantage of new
enable Albania to access the pipeline’s gas. sources of supply entering the region.
Albgaz CEO Arber Avrami also referred The manager noted how the company could
to the Dumrea gas storage project as a poten- play a role in the Vlora regasification project.
tial option for the partners’ development. The “We’ve done some studies to have an LNG
project has been discussed for years, but has terminal close to Vlora that would absolutely
never made movement, owing to a lack of pro- make sense to us with the infrastructure of TAP
gress with necessary import and gasification and IGB, which would allow possible swaps or
initiatives. reverse flows,” Yuliya Georgieva, gas origination
The collaboration with Snam and Excelerate and trading manager at Overgas, 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 Protecting the
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 interests of US
gas, following the departure in 2020 of Gaz- Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), slated to run through LNG exporters
prom as its previous investor. Linden pitched the Balkans.
the acquisition as helping Bulgaria diversify its Montenegro is another country that lacks a is less a priority
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- for the Biden
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 leadership.
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 23•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P5