DESFA, the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator, organized a workshop presenting to the market its revised proposal on the annual scheduling process for unloading LNG cargoes to the Revithoussa LNG terminal. The workshop took place on June 4, 2020, via videoconference, and was attended by a large number of participants in the LNG market, as well as representatives of RAE.

The workshop follows the conclusion of a public consultation on the issue, based on a concept paper that DESFA submitted to RAE in January 2020, proposing the complete redesign of the annual scheduling process aiming to:

• Address a number of issues that have emerged in the past
• Reflect the changing conditions in the Greek and international LNG business
• Introduce market based mechanisms for the allocation of LNG unloading slots

The workshop was greeted by the CEO of DESFA, Mr. Nicola Battilana and was presented by Mr. Gerasimos Avlonitis, Market Design Expert and Mr. Sotirios Bravos, Chief Commercial Officer of DESFA.
In his welcoming note, Mr. Battilana highlighted the role of the Revithoussa LNG terminal for Greece and the region and the importance of clear access rules. He noted that through its shareholding structure (SENFLUGA), DESFA now benefits also from commercial experience from several terminals in Europe and this experience has been taken into account in the proposed design, where relevant. He finally commented that with this project DESFA introduces a new structured process for communicating its proposals to the market.

The technical workshop touched upon all elements and rules for using the Revithoussa LNG terminal, from the annual scheduling to the actual unloading of LNG cargoes.

In the first part of the workshop Mr. Sotirios Bravos, Chief Commercial Officer of DESFA, presented the complete annual scheduling process, as this was developed by DESFA in the concept paper and further refined taking into accounts the comments in the public consultation. The scheme includes the introduction of standard size LNG slots, the bundling of regasification/entry capacity at Agia Triada and the use of auctions as allocation mechanism.

In the second part of the workshop Gerasimos Avlonitis, Market Design Expert of DESFA, referred to the changes proposed by DESFA while moving from the annual scheduling to the actual unloading of the LNG cargoes. He clarified that the flexibility provided today to the Revithoussa Users for scheduling their cargoes in shorter time horizons than year-ahead will be maintained and even enhanced, but respecting the main principle of the new scheme, which lies on the commitment of the Users acquiring the slots.

In the final part of the workshop, participants had the opportunity to pose questions and clarify with DESFA the details of the new proposal and the way forward.

As a next step, DESFA will prepare its final proposal to RAE, in the form of amendments to the Network Code, with a view to apply the new scheme in the next scheduling period (2021).
Source: DESFA