The consortium between Aktor Group and Greek state natural gas company DEPA Commercial is seeking to secure additional supplies of liquefied natural gas from the United States, Alexandros Exarchou, president and CEO of Aktor, said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Following a deal struck in November with Venture Global to import the fuel into Greece for export to countries like Ukraine and Romania, Atlantic See LNG Trade SA is seeking additional suppliers, Alexandros Exarchou said specifically. The Venture Global agreement covers the 2030-2050 period, but sales to Ukraine and Romania are expected to begin in 2026.
“We will need larger quantities than Venture Global can guarantee, but also for the 2026-2030 period we will need at least two, perhaps three suppliers,” said Exarchou, who is also CEO of Atlantic.
The search for new agreements comes at a time when Greece is seeking to become a natural gas transit hub for the region and Europe is working toward a complete ban on Russian supplies. Ukraine is also struggling to secure energy for winter, following Russian airstrikes that destroyed more than half of domestic natural gas production, Bloomberg reports.
The agreement signed by DEPA last month to supply Ukrainian Naftogaz with American liquefied natural gas from December to March “will be facilitated through Atlantic,” Exarchou said. Atlantic will focus on American liquefied natural gas, he said, given the unavailability of Russian natural gas from November 2027.
Exarchou: Greece will need a second floating storage and regasification unit before 2030
“Greece will need a second floating storage and regasification unit before 2030, in order to create a corridor that will enhance liquefied natural gas transport capacity to countries like Romania, Ukraine and Moldova, which is critical for the country’s national interests,” Exarchou emphasized.
In the short term, Atlantic will charter vessels to transport American liquefied natural gas to Greece, while it will explore the long-term viability of building its own ships, Exarchou added.
Atlantic’s entry into the LNG sector is part of Aktor’s strategy for diversification in the energy sector, aimed at boosting profits and reducing dependence on the construction industry, according to Exarchou. The company wants to reduce its dependence on the construction sector from 85% of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to 40%, with the energy sector’s contribution to be revised before the end of the year, he said.
“The impact of LNG in the 2026-2030 period will be significant and the impact of activity from 2030 to 2050 even more significant,” said the head of Aktor and Atlantic.
It is noted that Aktor holds 60% of Atlantic, while DEPA holds 40%.
