EastMed gas agreement tabled in Parliament for ratification

An international agreement to build the EastMed gas pipeline, which will carry natural gas from the East Mediterranean to Europe through Greece, was submitted to Parliament on Tuesday for ratification.

The agreement was signed by Greece, Cyprus and Israel on January 2, 2020, in the presence of the leaders of the three countries.

The 1,900-kilometer (1,300-mile) EastMed pipeline is intended to provide an alternative gas source for energy-hungry Europe, which is largely dependent on supplies from Russia and the Caucasus region.

The pipeline will carry 10 bln m3 of gas per year, with an extension capacity of 20 bln m3 per year. It will stretch from the Levant Base to the Florovouni area of Thesprotia prefecture, in northwestern Greece, where it will connect with the submerged Greek-Italian pipeline.

The section up to Italy is estimated to cost six billion euros.

Greece-based IGI Poseidon, which involves Greece's Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) and Italy's Edison as equal partners, are tasked with the construction of the pipeline.

The effort to claim offshore energy deposits in the southern Mediterranean has created new tensions between Greece and Cyprus, and Turkey.