The Eastern Mediterranean pipeline or simply EastMed is a planned offshore/onshore natural gas pipeline, directly connecting

East Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to comm ...

energy resources to mainland

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

via

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

. The project, currently in design, will transport natural gas from the off-shore gas reserves in the Levantine Basin into Greece, and in conjunction with the

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

and IGB pipelines into Italy and other European regions. Construction of the pipeline is expected to cost approximately €6 billion (US$6.86 billion). The pipeline is being developed by IGI Poseidon S.A., a 50-50% joint venture between the Greek gas utility

DEPA Public Gas Corporation of Greece A.E. (DEPA; el, Δημόσια Επιχείρηση Αερίου (ΔΕΠΑ) Α.Ε.) commonly known for its Greek abbreviation DEPA ( el, ΔΕΠΑ, translit=DEPA) is the natural gas supply company of Greece. The r ...

and the Italian gas utility

Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

. On 2 January 2020, the EastMed Pipeline accord was signed in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

by the leaders of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel. On 19 July 2020, the Israeli government officially approved the accord, allowing the signatory countries to move forward with plans to complete the pipeline by 2025. However, following the withdrawal of support from the United States in January 2022, it is likely that the pipeline will be rerouted through

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

to bypass Cyprus.

Timeline

In 2013, the construction of the EastMed pipeline was designated under

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

Regulation 347/2013 as a

Project of Common Interest Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) is a category of projects that the European Commission has identified as a key priority for interconnecting the European Union's energy system infrastructure. These projects are eligible to receive public funds. ...

and during the 2015-2018 period the Commission contributed more than €34.5 million (US$38.9 million) to complete technical, economic and environmental studies for the project. The

Energy Triangle The Energy Triangle is a natural gas extraction plan between the three allied countries Cyprus, Israel, and Greece. The three countries agreed to use the gas fields Tamar, Leviathan, and Aphrodite; found in 2009, 2010, and 2011 respectively. About ...

of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel signed an intergovernmental agreement for the EastMed gas pipeline in Tel Aviv on 20 March 2019 in the presence of

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's ...

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

, in a sign of support from Washington for the project. American interest on the pipeline is explained by Washington's demand that its European partners maintain a diversification policy of their energy imports. The pipeline will diversify European gas supplies and lessen dependence on Russian Natural Gas. In April 2019, the

labeled the EastMed pipeline as a

, having contributed €34.5 million (US$38.9 million) to complete technical studies for the project. On 7 May 2019, Italian prime minister

Giuseppe Conte Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) since August 2021. Conte sp ...

stated, at an event near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, that

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

will oppose the construction of Poseidon pipeline; the last section of EastMed connecting

and

via the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

, putting the entire project under consideration. However, on 1 January 2020, it was reported that the Italian Minister of Economic Development

Stefano Patuanelli Stefano Patuanelli (born 8 June 1974) is an Italian politician and civil engineer, member of the Five Star Movement. On 5 September 2019 he was appointed Minister of Economic Development in the Conte II Cabinet The second Conte government ...

had sent to his Greek counterpart a letter of support for the EastMed pipeline, thus reinstating the backing of

for the project. On 2 January 2020, the accord to construct the pipeline was signed in Athens by the leaders of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel. Cypriot President

Nikos Anastasiadis Nicos Anastasiades ( el, Νίκος Αναστασιάδης ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician who is the current president of Cyprus since 2013. He was re-elected in 2018. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally betwe ...

and Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

characterised the accord as "historic". The accord includes provisions for ensuring the security of the pipeline and a common tax regime. The Israeli government approved the accord on 19 July 2020, allowing the project to move forward. In January 2022, the United States announced withdrawal of support as the project is not seen as economically viable or environmentally friendly, meaning the project is likely to be cancelled and replaced with an energy connection between Egypt and Greece. U.S. House of Representatives members,

Gus Bilirakis Gus Michael Bilirakis ( ; born February 8, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2007, where he succeeded his father Michael ...

(R-Florida) and

Nicole Malliotakis Nicole Malliotakis (; born November 11, 1980) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 11th congressional district since 2021. Her constituency covers Staten Island and southern Brooklyn. Malliotakis is the onl ...

(R-New York), have questioned the Biden administrations reversal on the project in view of Europe's deepening dependency on Russian gas.

Route

The pipeline will connect the

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to so ...

(Israel) and

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...

(Cyprus) gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe. The pipeline will begin in the Levantine Basin and make landfall in

, where a compressor station will be located. From Cyprus, the pipeline will continue west for approximately 700 km, reaching depths of 3 km, and make landfall in eastern

. A compressor station on Crete will enable the supply of natural gas to the island. From Crete, the pipeline will continue northwest and make landfall in the eastern Peloponnese, near the village of Agios Fokas. The pipeline will cross the Peloponnese in a NW direction, cross the

Gulf of Patras The Gulf of Patras ( el, Πατραϊκός Κόλπος, ''Patraikós Kólpos'') is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio bridge, th ...

, and continue along western mainland Greece, ending in the Thesprotia region. From there, the proposed Poseidon pipeline will connect to Italy. Turkey has stated that they are strongly opposed to the pipeline project, claiming to have been intentionally excluded. The final signing of the project came in a period with Turkish exploration in the area and shortly after the signing of the EEZ agreement between Turkey and Libya. On 19 May 2023, Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of Italian energy company Eni, said that any agreement for the construction of the EastMed pipeline must include Turkey; he added that "there are disputes between Turkey and Cyprus that are difficult to remedy, furthermore Turkey has made an agreement with Libya to define a very vast platform that covers almost the entire EastMed, therefore not only Turkey but also Libya will have a say." In response to these comments, George Papanastasiou, the Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, stated that not all people agree with the opinions expressed by Descalzi, and that he respects his opinion. These remarks follow reports that Eni, Cyprus and Israel are working on a deal for constructing a natural gas pipeline in the Eastern Mediterranean, connecting both the Cypriot and Israeli offshore gas fields to a processing plant in Cyprus, where the gas will be liquefied for export by ship to Italy and the rest of Europe.

EastMed Gas Forum

In January 2019, seven energy ministers in the region penned a deal to set up the East Mediterranean Gas Forum. Total S.A.,

Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...

and Novatek and

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November ...

have signed exploration and production agreements with the relevant governments. Turkey is referred to as being the exception to regional tranquility. The current members of the group are:

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

, and the Palestinian Authority. In January 2020, France and the United States asked to join the Forum, as a member and permanent observer respectively.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

DEPA's project website
Proposed pipelines in Asia Proposed pipelines in Europe Natural gas pipelines in Cyprus Natural gas pipelines in Greece Natural gas pipelines in Israel Pipelines under the Mediterranean Sea Cyprus–Greece relations Cyprus–Israel relations Greece–Israel relations

Timeline

Route

EastMed Gas Forum

See also

References

External links