On December 5, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Israel signed a memorandum
of understanding for constructing an underwater gas pipeline from the
Eastern Mediterranean region to Greece and Italy, which will allow the
transportation of newly discovered Cypriot and Israeli gas reserves to
mainland Europe.
At an energy summit in Nicosia, Cyprus’ Energy Minister
Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and his Greek and Israeli counterparts
Giorgos Stathakis and
Yuval Steinitz as well Italian ambassador in Cyprus
Andrea Cvallari, who represented Italy’s Energy Minister
Carlo Calenda, signed the document for the promotion of the East Med pipeline in Cyprus on December 5.
According to a press release from Greece’s Environment and Energy,
Stathakis said the signing of the memorandum is "an important step
towards the maturity of the project”.
During the press conference, Greece’s Energy Minister reiterated
Greece’s strong support for the planning of the East Med pipeline from
the beginning, as it is a project of strategic importance for Europe.
Stathakis expressed his satisfaction that East Med also enjoys the
support of all the other countries involved as well as the European
Commission.
Stathakis said that the East Med pipeline is "technically and
economically viable” and would allow Israel and Cyprus to transport
their proven hydrocarbon reserves as well as Greece’s potential reserves
to the European market.
The Greek Energy Minister also noted that the project would benefit
not only the countries involved with the creation of a gas corridor for
all the East Mediterranean hydrocarbon producers but would also benefit
the gas consumers.
Finally, Stathakis expressed his satisfaction for the progress achieved based on the agreed timeline.
For his part, Steinitz was quoted as saying that the East Med
pipeline is "very realistic” and could help secure Europe’s energy
future.
EastMed will connect Israel’s Leviathan and Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas
fields to Greece and Italy. The initial estimate of the cost of the
pipeline, which will be able to transport 12-16 billion cubic metres of
gas per year, is around $6 billion.
The next step will be the signing of an intergovernmental agreement in Crete in the spring of 2018.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/greece-cyprus-italy-israel-sign-mou-east-med-gas-pipeline/