Government to approve EastMed gas pipeline project on Sunday
Once completed the 1,900 kilometer pipeline (1,180 miles) will be the longest in the world.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFCypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pose for a photo before signing a deal to build the EastMed subsea pipeline to carry natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, at the Zappeion Hall in Athens, Gree(photo credit: REUTERS/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS)
The government is set Sunday to approve the agreement Israel signed in January with Cyprus and Greece to advance the EastMed gas pipeline project.Once completed, the 1,900 km. pipeline will be the longest in the world. The bulk of it will be under the sea, but some portions will be on land.The pipeline will allow for natural gas from Israeli and Cypriot fields to flow to western and eastern Europe. The pipeline will start in Israel and then go via Cyprus and Greece and through Italy.The project is expected to transform Israel into an energy powerhouse that will place it at the center of a new geopolitical alignment with respect to energy in the Middle East.During the last election cycle Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Athens to sign an accord with regard to the EastMed pipeline with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.At the time Israel had an interim government that could not ratify the deal. Now that a new government is in place, the deal is coming before it for approval.Italy will also be part of the deal, but was not in Athens to sign the document.Mitsotakis was in Israel last month in advance of the government’s ratification of the deal.At the time Netanyahu said of his meeting with Mitsotakis, “We have substantial findings of gas offshore. Cyprus has that too. And our most important project which we discussed at length... is the laying of the EastMed pipeline that will connect the gas fields of Israel and Cyprus through Greece, through Cyprus to Greece, to Europe. This would be the longest underwater pipeline in the world. We’re committed to it.”The project is expected to cost upwards of €5.2 billion and is expected to be completed in 2025. In Israel the project will be under the auspices of Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) and his ministry.
Among the complicating issues regarding the project, is the objection of Turkey which has an accord with Libya with regard to exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean. Its a pact that has created a wartime dispute with Cyprus and Greece.Analysts say the Turkey-Libya pact could present a barrier to the propose pipeline which would have to cross the planned Turkey-Libya economic zone.Greece and Cyprus, which have long had maritime and territorial disputes with Turkey, say the accord is void and violates the international law of the sea. They see it as a cynical resource-grab designed to scupper the development of East Mediterranean gas and destabilize rivals.Reuters contributed to this report.
