Fossil Energy – Interconnector
Energy group Edison plans to take the final investment decision on a proposed pipeline to deliver east Mediterranean gas to European markets by the end of this year, the Italian project developer told Reuters.
The EastMed-Poseidon pipeline, which would initially connect several gas fields offshore Israel to Italy and have an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas, could be ready by 2027.
The project, supported by Israel, Cyprus and Greece, would guarantee alternative supplies for Europe, which is weaning itself off of Russian piped gas. In addition, it would better connect Cyprus to its EU partners.
For these reasons, the European Commission could be interested in partly funding the project, whose cost is estimated at around 6 billion euros ($6.4 billion), Edison said.
“We expect to take the final investment decision (FID) by the end of this year. With a FID in 2023, the project would be realised by 2027,” Fabrizio Mattana, Edison’s executive vice president for gas assets.
The European Union imported 155 bcm of natural gas from Russia in 2021, equating to about 45% of its gas imports, according to the International Energy Agency.
