RINA, the inspection, certification and consulting engineering multinational, in partnership with Asprofos, a leading Greek engineering consultancy, have secured a contract to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System (INGS).

Owned and developed by the Greek Company Gastrade S.A. – whose shareholders include Ms. E. Copelouzou, GasLog Cyprus Investments Ltd., DEPA Commercial S.A., Bulgartransgaz EAD and DESFA S.A. – the INGS project will increase and add security and diversification of gas supplies in the region of southeast Europe.

Unit slated to come online in 2023

The project will consist of a permanently moored Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) and a 28km pipeline system connecting the floating unit to the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGTS). The FSRU will be stationed in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea, approximately 17.6km southwest of the town of Alexandroupolis in northeast Greece. The FSRU will have a storage capacity of 153,500m³, a nominal gas send out rate of 625,000m³/h, corresponding to 5.5bn m³/y (530mmscfd) and a peak (without redundancy) gas send out rate of up to 944,000m³/h, corresponding to 8.3bn m³/y (800mmscfd). 

The Project is being financed through own resources with co-financing from public funds, the National Bank of Greece and shareholder equity. Public funds will be provided through the Greek Public Investment Programme, partly through national participation and partly through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), within the 2014-2020 programming period.

This terminal is a fast-track project, with the FSRU scheduled to be online by the end of 2023. RINA and Asprofos will ensure the contractual requirements of the project in terms of expected performance, quality, safety and planning are met. As well as supporting the owner on technical and managerial planning and oversight the two partners will act as an interface, through a multidisciplinary team of experts covering the different needs of the project.

A crucial project for European energy security

 “This is a crucial project for the security of European energy supplies,” remarked Leonardo Brunori, Executive Vice President of Energy & Mobility at RINA. “Recent events have highlighted the danger of relying on a single country for our energy needs. RINA has a long and proud track record of delivering FSRU and LNG projects globally having worked on over 200 in the last 15 years. We look forward to working together with Asprofos to deliver this strategically important terminal enabling Europe to further diversify access to energy.”

Dionysios Belekoukias, Managing Director at Asprofos, said his team was “delighted” with the contract and to be working with RINA on the important project. “We were awarded the contract because of our combined strong technical competencies” Mr Belekoukias asserted. “Over the last 35 years, Asprofos has gained extensive experience in the natural gas sector, having been involved in all phases of the majority of the National Natural Gas System of Greece, including the LNG Terminal in Revithoussa. 

“We have also been actively involved in most of the natural gas projects which have been implemented or are under development in Greece – such as Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), IGI Poseidon Pipeline, EastMed Pipeline – covering engineering, environmental, permitting, project management, construction management and supervision services,” he continued. “There are few companies that would be able to meet the diverse technical and geographical requirements of the project.”