Work has begun to develop Greece’s first Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) at the Keppel shipyard in Singapore, with the conversion of GasLog’s DNV classed LNGC Gaslog Chelsea, recently renamed Alexandroupoli.
Following conversion, FSRU Alexandroupoli will serve as an offshore storage and regasification facility and will be part of the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System (INGS).
The 155,000-cbm LNG carrier, recently reflagged to the Greek flag, is the first FSRU conversion under the Greek Flag for operation in the Aegean Sea. The project’s owner is Gastrade, a consortium of key players in the wider region’s energy market: Mrs. Elmina Copelouzou, GasLog, DEPA Commercial, the Public Gas Company of Greece, DESFA, the Hellenic Natural Gas Transmission System Operator, and Bulgartransgaz, the Bulgarian natural gas transmission and storage system operator.
The FSRU Alexandroupolis is designed to add a new gateway for natural gas in the Greek and wider Balkan region, improving the region's energy mix and diversifying energy sources to enhance energy security. It is expected to have a regasification capacity of around 8 billion cubic meters annually.
The existing LNGC is currently in DNV class. As an offshore-classed FSRU, the vessel will have the following notations: OI Ship-shaped LNG Storage Installation, Field (Alexandroupolis), REGAS(ES), POSMOOR, UWILD, BIS, TMON, Clean, NAUT(OC), NAUTICUS(Newbuilding), ASP(MRU).
The vessel is expected to be delivered at the end of 2023 and will be connected to the National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGΤS) of Greece via a 28km long pipeline.