Bulgaria could take up to a 25 percent
stake in a project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off
the coast of northern Greece, the Bulgarian energy minister said on
Wednesday.
The 380 million
euro ($425 million) floating facility will be linked to a gas pipeline
due to be built by Greece and Bulgaria and would help Bulgaria reduce
its reliance on Russian gas. It will also aim to supply gas to
southeastern Europe.
Bulgaria's
state-run energy holding company BEH has set up a taskforce with Greek
natural gas company Gastrade, which plans to build the terminal, to
consider joint participation.
The
team is due to come up with a proposal by the end of this month and
Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said Sofia would then consider its
options.
Gastrade, part of
Greek energy group Copelouzos, plans to build the terminal off the coast
near the northern Greek city of Alexandroupolis.
"The
end of October is the deadline, when the taskforce should come up with a
proposal which should give us clarity about the possibilities for
Bulgaria's participation," Petkova said at a press briefing with her
Greek counterpart Panos Skourletis.
"We have declared readiness to participate as an investor, as a shareholder with up to a 25 percent stake," she said.
The
facility, with an estimated annual capacity of 6.1 billion cubic metres
(bcm), will aim to supply gas to southeastern Europe via another
natural gas pipeline scheme that will cross through Greece, the
Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB).
Bulgaria
and Greece signed the final investment agreement for the IGB link last
year and binding bids for the pipeline are expected by the end of this
month.
Gastrade would not
necessarily hold a majority stake in the project, but would like to
involve the main market players in Greece and Bulgaria, Konstantinos
Sifnaios, a business development manager at Gasgrade, said.
Cheniere
Energy, a U.S-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, has also
expressed interest in becoming a shareholder, Sifnaios said.
A
final decision on the investment structure of the Alexandroupolis
terminal is expected by the middle of 2017, with it due to become
operational in the second half of 2019, he said. ($1 = 0.8937 euros)
(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Susan Fenton)
(Reuters)