European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete has said that the gas found in the Mediterranean Sea will be one of the keys towards boosting European energy security.
He said this during the ministerial meeting at EastMed Energy Summit hosted by Isreali energy minister Yuval Steinitz in Tel Aviv on Monday. The energy ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Italy joined Canete and Stenitz, to discuss shipping the eastern Mediterranean gas via pipeline to Europe.
According to a statement on the European Commission’s website, commissioner Arias Cañete and the ministers have met to discuss the potential of transporting gas from the eastern Mediterranean region for Europe.
They are considering developments in the eastern Mediterranean energy sector and options for meeting the needs of the Israeli and European gas markets.
Below is a tweet by the Cyprus energy minister Georgios Lakkotrypis who said that the ministers of Energy of Cyprus, Israel, Italy & Greece have agreed to initiate discussions on EastMed Pipeline Intergovernmental Agreement.
Ministers of #Energy of #Cyprus , #Israel , #Italy & #Greece agree to initiate discussions on EastMed Pipeline Intergovernmental Agreement. pic.twitter.com/EQuQ4dXs3u
— Georgios Lakkotrypis (@GLakkotrypis) April 3, 2017
Commissioner Arias Cañete said: “In the next decades gas flows from the eastern Mediterranean region will play a vital role in the energy security of the European Union. The Commission strongly supports the construction of the necessary energy infrastructure and developing a competitive and liquid gas market in the region.”
According to the EU commision, gas from the eastern Mediterranean could play an important part in helping both energy producing and neighbouring countries to address their energy security problems. It could also have a growing role in the EU’s diversification strategy.
In this context, the EU commision said the projected EastMed Gas Pipeline is one possible infrastructure option for bringing gas reserves from the eastern Mediterranean region to Europe and other international markets in the future.
Ending energy islands and diversifying EU gas supplies is an important objective of the current Juncker Commission, as set out in the Energy Union Strategy. As part of this, the EU is working with countries in north Africa, the Middle East, and the eastern Mediterranean to open up new routes that can bring gas to Europe, the statement on the EU commission’s website reads.
Offshore Energy Today Staff