Security through EastMed
The Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline (EastMed) would strengthen the security of natural gas supplies for Cyprus, Greece and other South Eastern European countries by adding a new cross-border entry point in the region, according to Dimitrios Manolis, deputy development director of the pipeline’s backer IGI Poseidon.
EastMed, which would potentially directly transport gas from Cyprus and Israel to the European gas system, is edging closer to feasibility after IGI Poseidon said last week that it will soon award the contract for the pre-front-end engineering and design (pre-FEED) stage of the project.
“EastMed constitutes a direct link with the offshore fields of the Eastern Mediterranean, thus it reduces significantly any probability of supply disruptions when compared to pipelines importing gas in the region,” Manolis said.
He added that the pipeline would also increase security of natural gas supplies for Cyprus because it is designed to operate in reverse flow if needed, allowing Cyprus to integrate into the European gas system. The budget for the project is estimated at $6 billion, with a plus or minus margin of 40%, and he said construction could begin as early as 2018.
Constantinos Hadjistassou, a lecturer in engineering science at the University of Nicosia, estimated that the pipeline could cost anything from $7bn to $20bn.
Manolis said the gas would come from the significant natural gas reserves discovered in the past few years in the South Eastern Mediterranean basin, especially in Cyprus and Israel.
He said some estimates put reserves at 940 billion cubic metres (bcm), but added that according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) total reserves in the Levant Basin could be three times this figure.
On the basis of top-level surveys, the USGS estimated in 2010 that the Levant Basin could contain 122 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Reserves in the Leviathan field off Israel have to date have reached 21.9tcf (around 614bcm), while in Cyprus reserves in Aphrodite are estimated at 4.5tcf (around 126bcm).
The European Commission has said Cypriot gas could play an important role in diversifying supplies but its development is complicated by the long-standing rift between Cyprus and Turkey as EastMed would pass through waters Turkey disputes.
Cyprus’ Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said at the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference last week that energy cooperation would be positive for both sides, but he blamed Turkey for the stalemate.
“Regrettably, for the time being, Cyprus remains on the receiving end of Turkish policies and actions which diverge from these objectives,” he said. Manolis said EastMed would be able to deliver up to 14bcm a year from a completely new source, which would diversify the sources, routes and counterparts of the European gas supply.
“It also contributes to the development of EU domestic gas resources, thus limiting the dependence on third countries,” he added.
Manolis said EastMed would boost the economies of Cyprus, Greece and the broader South Eastern European region by bringing in revenues and increasing competition in the final gas market.
The pipeline would also facilitate the substitution of oil with gas, particularly for electricity production and industrial consumption, thereby cutting greenhouse emissions in the region. EastMed would also lead to the convergence of gas prices in South Eastern Europe as the internal European energy market would benefit from the competitive prices from the Eastern Mediterranean offshore field due to their proximity to the markets, according to Manolis.
“It would also provide Cyprus and Israel with a stable market for gas exports,” he said.
Hadjistassou said EastMed is an ultra-deepwater pipeline project that could face marine geohazards during construction, including tectonic faults, submarine corrosive spots and uneven seabeds.
“Technically, if such a project materialises it will constitute an engineering feat second to none,” he said.
“Technically, if such a project materialises it will constitute an engineering feat second to none,” he said.
IGI Poseidon has obtained the necessary permits for construction in Italy and is finalising procedures to obtain construction permits in Greece.
After the pre-FEED study has been completed, the company will apply to Brussels’ main infrastructure funding budget, the Connecting Europe Facility 2014-2020, for financing.
For Cyprus, the pipeline is one of three so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI) involving the island, approved by the European Commission, which has backed 250 power and gas projects designed to curb reliance on Russian gas imports and create a single market. The other two are Cypriot plans to create a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on its southern coast, and a subsea electricity cable linking Israel, Cyprus and Greece.
Plans to build the LNG plant have since been shelved in view of insufficient quantities of gas.By Samantha Shields.
Source: http://in-cyprus.com/security-through-eastmed/
