Greek ambassador: Greece will become energy hub
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Greece hopes to become a hub for a pipeline network transporting natural gas to Europe from Israel and Cyprus, said ambassador to the US, Christos Panagopoulos.
“The Europeans have an energy gap … so energy security is a very big issue today and we can provide solutions,” said Ambassador Christos Panagopoulos. “I wouldn’t say we could solve it 100%, but contributing toward energy security for Europe is a very good thing for all of us, the Western community and our American friends, as well,” he said.
Greece, Israel and Cyprus last year signed a memorandum of understanding to work on the project and earlier this month leaders of the three countries presented a formal proposal to the European Union seeking its backing.
“That was characterized very positively as a Project of Common Interest, which in European argot, is something they are going to consider seriously,” he said.
The proposal comes at a time when tensions are high between Russia, the primary supplier of natural gas to Europe, and Western Europe, because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“During the high-level meeting between Israel and Greece, which is chaired by two respective prime ministers, the energy sector was discussed extensively and there was a lot of agreement between the two heads of government,” Panagopoulos said.
The project could be technically difficult, spanning water as deep as 10,000 feet between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete, but Panagopoulos said it is possible. And while it could be costly, it would be economic in the long run.
“The cost of constructing this might be just a bit higher, but the long-term potential is much brighter,” he said.
Cyprus has large reserves of natural gas in the offshore Aphrodite field. Exploratory drilling in the field’s Block 12 has suggested reserves of 3.6-6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). Israel possesses some of the largest gas reserves in the world, including the huge offshore Leviathan field, which holds an estimated 19 Tcf.
Greece has already made inroads in its effort to be a European gas hub. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline now in the works would carry gas from the Trans Anatolian Pipeline at the Greek-Turkish border, through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy.
