Energy and Climate Action Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete confirmed on Wednesday 24 May in reply to a written question from European Parliament Vice-President Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Greece) that the EU is providing assistance of up to €2 million to the EastMed gas pipeline project which aims to carry the gas recently discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean to the market in southern Europe.
The EastMed gas pipeline is one of the energy infrastructure projects of common interest (PCI) identified in line with the TEN-E Regulation on the basis of its expected benefits in term of security of supply and market integration, Cañete said.
EastMed currently enjoys grant assistance of up to €2 million for pre-FEED (Front-End-Engineering Design) preparatory studies under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme. Under this CEF supported activity, the promoter carries out several studies in order to, in particular, assess the project's technical feasibility and to confirm its economic and financial viability as well as competitiveness vis-a-vis other transport options, the commissioner stated.
Further project preparatory and development activities are still required (including a full FEED analysis and detailed on-/offshore surveys) before the project promoters would take a final investment decision which would ultimately confirm the feasibility of the delivery of this “ambitious and important” project, the commissioner says.
Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Italy agreed at a ministerial summit in Tel Aviv on 3 April to work more closely together in order to take forward, with support from the EU, their proposed subsea gas pipeline EastMed (see EUROPE 11761).
The project has been found to be technically feasible and economically viable and IGI Poseidon, the consortium responsible for bringing the project to fruition, estimates that the pipeline could be completed by 2025. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)