Natural gas transmission system operator – Record year in 2021 for natural gas consumption

A record year for the consumption of natural gas in Greece was 2021, according to the annual data of Natural gas transmission system operator DESFA. The entry point to Sidirokastro remained the main gas inflow gate to the gas transmission system, while the contribution of the new entry point at Nea Mesimvria, which connects the gas transmission system with the TAP pipeline from the end of 2020, was also remarkable.

Specifically, according to the relevant data of DESFA for 2021, domestic gas consumption increased by 10.87% reaching 69.96 million megawatt hours (MWh) from 63.1 million MWh in 2020. Most of the domestic (68.65%) corresponds to the consumption of electricity generation units, followed by household consumers and companies connected to the distribution networks, with a percentage of 18.77%, as well as domestic industries, which are directly connected to the high pressure system of DESFA , with a percentage of 12.56%.

Details

• Record year in 2021 for natural gas consumption in Greece: 10.87% increase in natural gas consumption (MWh) compared to 2020.
• Sidirokastro remained the main gateway for natural gas to the gas transmission system during 2021, with a rate of 45.5%.
• Significant share in the inflow of natural gas for the Entry Point in Nea Mesimvria, through which the gas transmission system is connected to the TAP pipeline from the end of 2020.
• In 2021, electricity generators consumed the largest quantities of natural gas, compared to other categories of consumers, covering 68% of total demand, consumption increased by 17% compared to the corresponding 2020.
• LNG still accounts for a significant share of total gas imports, with significant volume imports recorded in the fourth quarter of the year.
• Despite the decrease compared to 2020, LNG imports from the USA remain at high levels, representing over 50% of the total LNG imports in the country.
• The Revythousa LNG Terminal is steadily enhancing security of supply, both in the country and in the wider region of the Eastern Balkans.

LNG deliveries

Regarding the LNG deliveries that took place at the Revythousa Terminal last year, these amounted to approximately 24.51 TWh from 35 tankers compared to 33.40 TWh from 49 tankers in 2020. Despite the decrease compared to the previous year, almost a third (31.8%) of the imported gas came from imports of LNG cargo. The reductions are mainly due to LNG shipments from the USA and Qatar (-26.96% and -44.59% respectively), while a significant increase of 60.24% compared to 2020 had LNG imports from Algeria. LNG imports from Egypt also increased by 29.74%. The USA remained the largest exporter of LNGto Greece with 12.29 TWh (50.14%), with significant imports of quantities being recorded mainly during the fourth quarter of the year and Algeria followed in second place with 5.40 TWh ( 22.04%).

Qatar and Egypt follow with 4.74 (19.37%) and 1.12 TWh (4.59%) respectively, while in the last place for 2021 is Angola with 0.94 TWh (3.84%).
With the opening of an additional (fourth) point of entry in the gas transmission system, that of Nea Mesimvria, the security of supply of the country is further strengthened and the diversification of sources and infrastructure of supply is expanded. Thus, for 2021, gas imports recorded an increase compared to the previous year, reaching 77.73 TWh, compared to 70.64 TWh for 2020. The largest quantities entered from the entry point of Sidirokastro (35 , 37 TWh), which covered 45.5% of total imports, recording an increase of 10.41% compared to the corresponding period last year. During the first year of its operation, a quantity higher than 13.61 TWh was introduced through the new point of entry in Nea Mesimvria, which corresponds to 17.5% of the total imports, with, finally, about 4.02 TWh (5.17 %) were introduced in the NSRF from the point of entry into Kipoi, Evros.

In summary, during 2021, the infrastructure of DESFA contributed substantially to the diversification of gas supply sources and to the strengthening of the level of security of supply both in Greece and in the wider region. The liberalization of the energy market and the regulated Third Party Access (TPA) regime, under which DESFA provides access to the gas transmission system, promotes competition between gas suppliers for the benefit of the final consumer. Third party access (TPA) is governed by the provisions of European Union and national law, ensuring open access to any interested party.