Greek Minister of Energy George Stathakis said Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Israel are drafting an intergovernmental agreement on the $7 bln EastMed pipeline to be signed in the first three months of 2019.
In an address to the 6th Energy Symposium in Nicosia, Stathakis said “a project of strategic importance for Europe, Greece, Cyprus and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region is the natural gas pipeline EastMed.”
He added that “discussions between the countries involved with the implementation of this emblematic energy project uniting Israel and Cyprus with Greece and the rest of Europe have matured.”
According to Stathakis, the work undertaken by “technical teams to draft the text of an intergovernmental agreement between Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Israel is expected to be completed soon and we aspire that the agreement will be signed during the first quarter of 2019.”
Chairman of Natural Gas Public Company of Cyprus (DEFA) Symeon Kassianides said that the project for the introduction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Cyprus would be feasible, after securing financing by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
He also said that many companies have shown interest to participate in DEFA’s tender for the design, construction, and operation of an LNG import terminal in Cyprus.
Kassianides said that unlike previous tenders that did not make it possible for natural gas to come to Cyprus, the separation of the infrastructure project from the gas supply has been documented in the security of supply that helped the Cypriot project to get European financing.
As a result, he said, the project “is considered to be feasible and there’s a lot of interest from companies to participate in the tender”.
President of the Institute of Energy for South East Europe (IENE) John Chatzivassiliadis said that the evolution of Cyprus’ energy system and the transition to the new energy era and sustainable growth constitute the greatest challenges together with the exploration, production and transport of natural gas.
He also said that Cyprus could cover a great deal of its needs through solar energy and natural gas applications with great economic and social benefits.
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