DESFA

Greece is fast becoming an energy supplier in Southeastern Europe, said US Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis on Tuesday at the 7th Southeast Europe Energy Forum in Thessaloniki.

Greece will enjoy lower natural gas bills in the coming years as the country turns into a transit hub for natural gas in Southeastern Europe, Maria Rita Galli, CEO of gas grid operator DESFA, told reporters.

Greek gas grid operator DESFA wants to build a 1-billion-euro hydrogen pipeline that will connect Greece to Bulgaria, as part of a future European southeastern corridor, it said on Thursday.

Greece has received interest from 27 US and European companies in booking future capacity in its gas grid, which would allow them to import and export gas to Europe via the country in the coming decades, grid operator DESFA said on Thursday.

Kuwait has signed a six-year, $106 million contract with Greek gas grid operator DESFA for the group to operate a liquefied natural gas import terminal in the Gulf emirate, the state-run news agency KUNA reported on Thursday.

The Copelouzos energy group has gained a foothold in Greek gas grid operator DESFA through the acquisition of a minority stake in European consortium Senfluga.

"Energy diplomacy" between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is growing ahead of the crucial referendum in FYROM over its name change.

Greek gas grid operator DESFA is of major strategic importance for the broader natural gas market, as its network runs along the Southern Gas Corridor to the heart of the European Union, where most new routes bringing the commodity to central European markets will pass, Marco Alvera tells Kathimerini.

The consortium of European firms Snam, Enagas and Fluxys, named Senfluga Energy Infrastructure Holdings SA, is as of Friday the new owner of the controlling stake in natural gas grid operator DESFA, almost six years after the first attempt to privatize the company.

A series of eagerly anticipated agreement conclusions in the energy sector are expected to take place in Athens and Milan on Friday.