- Domestic natural gas consumption increased by 25.16% in the first nine months of 2024.
- The entry point at Sidrokastro was the main gateway, covering 54.25% of total gas imports, followed by the Revithoussa Terminal, with 24.75%.
- USA continues to be the country's main source of LNG supply, accounting for 64.99% of total LNG imports.
- Increase of 87.93% in natural gas consumption by big industries and CNG stations.
During the first nine months of 2024, natural gas consumption in Greece increased by 25.16%, reaching 47.65 Terawatt hours (TWh) from 38.07 TWh in the same period for 2023. The entry point at Sidirokastro was the main gateway to the Greek market, with an increase of 62.67% compared to the same period last year, reaching 26.32 TWh from 16.18 TWh and surpassing the entry point at Revithoussa, which recorded a 52.25% decrease in gas imports compared to the same period last year.
According to DESFA’s data, during the period January – September 2024, the total quantity transported through the National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGTS) decreased by 8.14%, reaching 48.31 TWh, from 52.59 TWh in 2023, a decrease mainly attributed to the 95.45% drop in natural gas exports through the NNGTS (0.66 TWh compared to 14.52 TWh in 2023).
However, despite the increase in domestic consumption, there was a 7.90% decrease in total imported natural gas quantities, mainly due to the reduction in the quantities unloaded at the Revithoussa LNG Terminal. Specifically, approximately 12.34 TWh were unloaded at Revithoussa from 17 LNG carriers originating from 4 different countries. The vast majority of the LNG imports came from the USA, reaching 8.02 TWh, and representing 64.99% of total LNG imports. Next came imports from Russia (6.27 TWh) showing a decrease of 54.39% compared to the same period last year, followed by Norway (0.98 TWh) and Algeria (0.48 TWh). Additionally, during the period from January to September 2024, the LNG Truck Loading service, which provides a flexible solution for transporting significant quantities of LNG by road to off-grid areas and users, saw the unloading of 174 LNG trucks, transferring 7,787.00 m³ of LNG, equivalent to 51,278.15 MWh of energy.
Additionaly, as regards the contribution of the remaining entry points, the quantity imported from the Nea Messimvria entry point, via the TAP pipeline, remained almost stable (9.61 TWh), showing a decrease only by 0.52% compared to 2023.
Regarding the categories of natural gas consumers, power producers continue to record the highest consumption, accounting for 69.52% of domestic demand with 33.13 TWh out of a total of 47.65 TWh. Natural gas consumption by industries and CNG stations directly connected to the NNGTS increased by 87.93% compared to the first nine months of 2023, reaching 6.54 TWh, which corresponds almost to the 13.73% of domestic demand. On the contrary, consumption (7.98 TWh) recorded by distribution networks decreased by 2.33% in the first nine months of 2023, covering 16.75% of total demand.
DESFA's infrastructure contributed substantially to the diversification of natural gas supply sources and to the strengthening of the security of supply of the country and the wider region. The liberalization of the energy market and the regulated Third-Party Access TPA, under which DESFA provides access to the NNGS, strengthens competition among natural gas suppliers for the benefit of end consumers. Third Party Access (TPA) is governed by the provisions of European Union and national law, ensuring open access to any interested party.
