A long-term agreement was signed by Aktor Group through its subsidiary for the supply of LNG from the US to Albania’s state natural gas company, Albgaz, as announced by the Greek infrastructure company on April 28, with Aktor Group CEO Alexandros Exarchou describing it as a “very significant step toward implementing the Vertical Corridor“.
S&P Global: Aktor-Albgaz deal for American LNG marks milestone
Under the agreement, which is expected to last 20 years, Aktor, through its subsidiary Aktor LNG USA, expects to supply 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually to ALBGAZ starting in 2030. The deal is estimated to generate revenues of approximately 6 billion euros (7 billion dollars), according to the April 28 announcement.
Aktor also signed a memorandum of understanding, through another subsidiary, with Albania’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy to explore the development and operation of an “integrated energy hub,” as stated in the April 28 announcement. This would include a natural gas-fired power generation station in Albania with a capacity of approximately 380 megawatts. The US government supports the project, AKTOR reported, without specifying the nature of the support. The memorandum falls under subsidiary Aktor Energy USA.
Both Albgaz and Albania’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Exarchou: Significant step toward implementing the Vertical Corridor
Aktor Group CEO Alexandros Exarchou characterized the developments as milestones in the evolution of the Natural Gas Vertical Corridor, an initiative to expand regional transport capacity to enable the transfer of larger quantities of non-Russian gas – from Azerbaijan and regasified LNG arriving in Greece and Turkey – to Southeastern, Eastern and Central Europe, extending to Moldova and Ukraine.
According to the April 28 announcement, Mr. Exarchou stated: “Today we took a very significant step toward implementing the Vertical Corridor, a strategic initiative supported by the US government that aims to provide energy security to Europe through US LNG”.
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, valued the DES Mediterranean LNG index at $14.489 per million British thermal units on April 28, down 2.8% on a daily basis.
