Liquefied natural gas

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (R) and Montenegro's President Jakov Milatovic (L) inspect the honour guard before their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 10, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC

Türkiye imported 3.98 billion cubic meters of natural gas in April, down 2.1 percent from the same month of 2022, data from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) have shown.

Gas import via pipelines fell nearly 5 percent to 3.28 billion cubic meters, while the country's LNG purchase increased almost 14 percent from April last year to 698,000 cubic meters.

Cyprus hopes to develop plans for a pipeline linking it to Israel's east Mediterranean gas fields during talks which start next month, the island's top energy official told Reuters.

Proposals by the new centrist Cypriot government, which came to power in March, represent a markedly different approach to its predecessors in getting gas to Europe and other markets.

The Elin gas station chain and Blue Grid on Wednesday announced that, as part of their collaboration, they are creating the first liquefied and compressed natural gas (LNG-CNG) station in Attica, at Thriassio, west of the capital, which is expected to be put into operation in the first quarter of 2024.

"Bulgargaz" proposed a 15% reduction in the price of gas in June, and the state energy regulator EWRC approved the proposal at its meeting today.

Cyprus wants to establish itself as a gateway from East Mediterranean gas resources to Europe via a shipping corridor of LNG carriers, its president said on Monday. 

Cyprus' new centrist government, which came to power in February, has cooled to the idea championed by its predecessors of an "EastMed" pipeline transferring gas to Europe. 

Cyprus' minister of energy, George Papanastasiou, has affirmed Nicosia's commitment to proceed with its plans for transporting natural gas from the region, both for domestic electricity generation and for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, despite geopolitical reactions.

The price of natural gas fell to a record low on the Dutch stock exchange, whose prices are a reference for trade in Europe, "Reuters" reported.

The price of June gas on the Amsterdam Exchange reached €24.90 per megawatt hour (MWh) in the morning - the lowest level since May 27, 2021.

The cost of the emergency measures Greece bore for the energy shielding of Europe, taken by the Commission in the midst of the panic over a complete stoppage of Russian gas exports, came to more than 300 million euros.

The recent announcements in Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a pipeline that will transport natural gas from Israel's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to Cyprus for liquefaction (LNG) and export to European markets have, analysts say, all the makings of a new energy reality in the region.