The partnership between the Atlantic SEE LNG consortium—a joint venture between Aktor (60%) and DEPA (40%) with the American natural gas producer Venture Global, following the issuance of the required letters of guarantee, which were a key prerequisite for the deal to materialize.
The agreement was announced last fall in Athens and involves a 20-year contract between Venture Global and Atlantic SEE LNG Trade for the supply of U.S. LNG starting in 2030; however, the issue of the letter of guarantee remained the key outstanding matter.
The letter of credit in the amount of 131 million euros was issued to Venture Global last Friday, upon the expiration of the relevant deadline, meaning that the contract with the U.S. side is now effectively in force, with all that this entails for the agreement itself.
In practice, it provides for the supply of 4 billion cubic meters (bcm) starting in 2030, with the majority being sent to neighboring countries in the region, including 1 bcm for Albania and 0.5 bcm for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In any case, this is the first long-term contract between a Greek entity and an American exporter, which is why it was hailed as the beginning of a new era of energy cooperation between Greece and the U.S., as it involved trade agreements along the Vertical Corridor—that is, the axis connecting Greece with Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and the markets of the Western Balkans.
The above comes ahead of the upcoming “crash test” on July 6, which marks the “moment of truth” for the Vertical Corridor, as that is when the first tender will take place under the new regime agreed upon in March—namely, with tariffs reduced by 50%.
At the same time, starting July 1, the gas transmission capacity on the first section of the route, between Greece and Bulgaria, will increase by 50%, and the annual capacity of 2.4 billion cubic meters (bcm)/year to 3.1 bcm, as the relevant infrastructure projects on the Bulgarian network have been completed. In fact, a further upgrade of this section to 3.6 bcm per year is planned.
Further north, between Bulgaria and Romania, plans are underway to double the transmission capacity on the section connecting the two countries, from 5 to 10 bcm per year, starting in the 2027/2028 gas year. By then, the infrastructure aimed at achieving complete independence from Russian gas is expected to be completed, while an increase in capacity between Bulgaria and North Macedonia is also planned for the same period.
This will effectively expand the Vertical Corridor toward the Western Balkans, as the Greece-North Macedonia natural gas pipeline is also expected to become operational by the end of 2027.
Aktor CEO Alexandros Exarchou also referred to the Atlantic SEE LNG agreements and the fact that the company aims to conclude negotiations with Romania by the end of the summer in statements to Bloomberg, while highlighting another dimension.
The fact is that because the conflict in the Middle East has disrupted about one-fifth of global energy flows and pushed spot prices higher, U.S. companies have become more cautious about 20-year contracts.
“U.S. suppliers have become reluctant to commit to a price for a long period of time. This is a different situation from six months ago, when they were seeking such long-term agreements,” he notes.