Europe's most influential natural gas gathering, the annual "Flame" conference was once again held at the Okura hotel in Amsterdam from 13-15 th of May. The rebound of European gas demand,the increasingly important role that Europe is playing in global LNG trade and Russia's continuing relevance in European gas supply were dominant themes in this year's conference which brought together more than 600 senior energy executives Europe's most influential natural gas gathering, the annual "Flame" conference was once again held at the Okura hotel in Amsterdam from 13-15 th of May. The rebound of European gas demand,the increasingly important role that Europe is playing in global LNG trade and Russia's continuing relevance in European gas supply were dominant themes in this year's conference which brought together more than 600 senior energy executives and high level government and international organisation officials who participated in some 120 different sessions.
Adapting to the demands of a new energy world and the key role of natural gas in the futureenergy mix as we move towards Energy Transition was another key theme which played strongly this year in Amsterdam.The quest for new supply sources as Europe's own gas production is dwindling, something which became painfully apparent with the latest news concerning the Groningen field's planned premature closure by 2025, has acquired a new urgency especially as policy makers are coming under increased pressure to lessen country exposure to Russian gas imports.In this context the role of East Mediterranean as a potential new source of gas capable of supplying some of Europe's needs is being re assessed by the EC and the USA.
To help understand the complex situation now developing in the East Mediterranean but also assess the new opportunities now arising from the imminent operation of the first leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is the TANAP-TAP pipeline, "Flame" organizers invited IENE' Executive Director, Costis Stambolis, and Dr.Charles Ellinas, of eCNHC, to speak in a special session on "Cyprus,Greece and Interconnectors" which was moderated by the well known Israeli gas market expert Gina Cohen.
IENE's Executive Director focused his presentation on the "the expanded south gas corridor" and how this will become the driver for considerable new infrastructure investment in the broader SE European and East Med area in the years to come. As Stambolis pointed out " the impact from the anticipatedstart of operation of the fully extended TANAP-TAP pipeline next year is much broader than the new gas volumes that this new route will bring and has to do with the host of new projects that are being developed ranging from new interconnectors to land based and FSRU terminals and the emergence of gas trading hubs"
From his part Charles Ellinas discussed the various gas export options for East Med gas which now include export pipelines for Cyprus gas from the Aphrodite field to the Idku liquefaction terminal in Egypt, the construction of a land based liquefaction plant in Vassilikos in Cyprus,on the strength of the recently discovered Glaucos field and even the construction of a floating liquefaction plant (FLNG) The possibility of transmitting East Med gas to Europe via the East Med pipeline was considered as remote given the limited available volumes and the present tense geopolitical situation let alone Italy's opposition to the whole scheme. Both presentations will shortly be uploaded on IENE's web site at www.iene.eu
