USA Will Market The Natural Gas To Eastern European Countries
Wanting to take a leading role in the world natural gas league with shale gas production in recent years, the USA will market the natural gas it produces with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to be built in Alexandroupoli, Greece, to Eastern European countries. Most recently, Bulgaria became a partner of 20 percent in the LNG project in Alexandroupoli. Greece's Gastrade company and Bulgaria's Bulgartransgaz company will jointly run the LNG project. While the project is planned to be operational in 2023, the natural gas to be transported from Alexandroupolis to Bulgaria by pipeline is planned to be sent to European countries. With this project, these two countries will reduce their dependence on natural gas from the pipeline from Turkey.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced that they want to reduce dependence on Russia in natural gas and become the new hub for Eastern and Central Europe with Greece.
It has been announced that the annual capacity of the LNG project to be built in Alexandroupoli is 6.1 billion cubic meters. The USA wants to break Russia's energy efficiency in Europe with the Alexandroupolis LNG project.
European countries, especially Germany and France, supply most of their natural gas needs from Russia. The USA, which has become a major producer of natural gas, also wants European countries to buy gas from it due to alliance. However, European countries do not lean towards gas coming from the USA in the form of LNG. Relations between Germany and the United States were strained due to the North Stream 2 pipeline project with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters, which will carry the natural gas extracted in Russia from under the Baltic Sea to Europe. Despite threatening US pressure, Germany did not pull out of the project.