Edison sees investment decision on EastMed gas pipeline by year-end - REUTERS

March 20, 20238:06 AM GMT+2

Francesca Landini

Edison's logo is seen outside the company headquarters in downtown Milan, Italy, January 14, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

MILAN, March 20 (Reuters) - Energy group Edison (EDNn.MI) plans to take the final investment decision on a proposed pipeline to deliver east Mediterranean gas to European markets by the end of this year, the Italian project developer told Reuters.

The EastMed-Poseidon pipeline, which would initially connect several gas fields offshore Israel to Italy and have an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas, could be ready by 2027, Edison said.

The project, supported by Israel, Cyprus and Greece, would guarantee alternative supplies for Europe, which is weaning itself off of Russian piped gas. In addition, it would better connect Cyprus to its EU partners.

DNV further confirms feasibility and maturity of the EastMed pipeline - DNV

13 June 2022

On 10 June, 2022, DNV issued confirmation of the Feasibility Statement of the Eastern Mediterranean Deepwater Pipeline (EastMed), a 2000 km long onshore and offshore natural gas conduit project meant to connect offshore gas reserves from the Levantine Basin to Greece via Cyprus, and further to southeastern European countries in conjunction with Poseidon and Greece-Bulgaria interconnection (IGB) pipelines.

The current design envisions a 1400 km offshore and 600 km onshore pipeline, with an initial capacity of about 10 billion m3 of gas each year; the maximum water depth reached, for a short section of around 10 km, is 3000 m, in line with other ultradeep-water pipelines already installed in other parts of the world.

The unique context of this project in the Eastern Mediterranean region helps countries with coal- and heavy crude oil-reliant energy systems transition to the cleaner source that is natural gas to reach their net-zero targets and strengthen their energy security.

In particular, the EastMed Project, developed by IGI Poseidon S.A., is meant to respond to the specific needs of regions such as Cyprus or some part of Greece, which are not tightly connected to the continent’s energy system and whose economies rely heavily on energy-intensive users like marine tankers and international aviation. It would also allow countries like Bulgaria to diversify their supplies and increase their energy security.