The Greek Public Gas Corporation DEPA on Thursday signed a letter of intent to buy natural gas from the UK Energean Oil & Gas company, which is expected to form about 20 percent of gas supply via the prospective EastMed pipeline, the Greek Environment and Energy Ministry said
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd January, 2020) The Greek Public Gas Corporation DEPA on Thursday signed a letter of intent to buy natural gas from the UK Energean Oil & Gas company, which is expected to form about 20 percent of gas supply via the prospective EastMed pipeline, the Greek Environment and Energy Ministry said."This is a very important development as it paves the way for the signing of the first trade agreement that will specify the volumes of natural gas for the EastMed pipeline. DEPA will be able to purchase natural gas from Energean Oil & Gas operating in Israel. This is about 20 percent of the initial network capacity and creates the conditions to further develop Israeli natural gas reserves that are or will be discovered in the Israeli exclusive economic zone," the ministry said in a statement.
According to Athens, this agreement provides prospects for the pipeline's commercial and economic viability.
Greek Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said that the letter of intent to buy and transport 2 billion cubic meters (70 billion cubic feet) of gas from the EastMed pipeline was "an important milestone for the viability of this pipeline, a project that many analysts considered a pipe dream."
A deal on the construction of the EastMed pipeline will be signed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades later on Thursday. The agreement will subsequently be signed by Italy.
The pipeline project to carry natural gas from Israel and Cyprus to Greece with a further transition to Italy and other southeast European countries received European support in 2015, when the EU Commission included it in the list of Project of Common Interest (PCI), as well as awarded it with European grants of 2 million euro ($2.2 million). In 2017, Greek, Cypriot, Italian and Israeli energy ministers reaffirmed their commitment for the EastMed pipeline's construction by signing a joint declaration.
The pipeline will link Israel's Leviathan natural gas field estimated to hold around 620 billion cubic meters (22 trillion cubic feet) in untapped reserves and a smaller adjoining Aphrodite field in Cypriot economic waters to Italy and Greece.
EastMed is expected to become one of the longest pipelines in the world with a length of nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and an investment cost assessed at over $6 billion. The pipeline is expected to be completed in 2025.
