The Russian invasion of Ukraine, forcing the European Union (EU) to review its dependence on Russian gas, could revive the Eastmed gas pipeline plan, which is to link offshore natural gas fields off Israel and Cyprus to the rest from Europe. This is at least the dearest wish of Athens, which in recent years has pushed its Egyptian, Israeli and Cypriot partners to create an alliance centered on this common project – but also on the need to unite in the face of Turkey. And for good reason: the discovery of hydrocarbons off the coast of Cyprus has resulted in a race for gas and oil exploitation. Ankara has sent drillships to Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) several times. In the summer of 2020, a Turkish seismic exploration vessel sailing near several Greek islands created an unprecedented episode of tension between Greece and Turkey.
For Thanassis Davakis, head of the Greek mission to NATO, “the Ukrainian crisis requires more support for the exploitation of gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean (…) and major regional projects such as the Eastmed gas pipeline”. In the Greek daily Kathimerini, Eran Lerman, vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security also argues that, “with the abandonment of Nord Stream 2 and relations with Russia likely to be disrupted for a very long time, the question of the economic viability of the Eastmed gas pipeline could again be raised”.
Diversify sources of supply
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is more cautious. “We will examine all alternative gas routes, including the Eastmed”he said, during a debate in Parliament. “But the way to get supplies more quickly is currently to turn to liquefied natural gas from Egypt. » With a length of around 2,000 kilometers, the Eastmed, a large part of which will be subsea, should be able to transport between 9 billion and 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from offshore reserves off the coast of Cyprus. and from Israel to Greece and then to the rest of the EU. Since 2015, it has been part of the projects of common European interest in the field of energy, as it allows the diversification of gas supply sources. “Feasibility studies will be completed by the end of 2022, by which time we will have clarified whether this project is viable and whether it can move forward”specified to Cyprus Times Cypriot Energy Minister Natasa Pilides on 7 March.
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