Greek energy exploration and production company Energean plc, which operates Israel's offshore Karish, Tanin, and Katlan gas fields, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cypriot company Cyfield to supply natural gas to an electricity production plant that the company will build near Larnaca. If the project is approved by the Cypriot government, Cyprus will become the third country to import natural gas from Israel after Egypt and Jordan.
Energean will finance and build a new underwater pipeline connecting the Karish platform to Cyprus, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. At this stage, the company has declined to specify quantities or scale, but it is clear that, to justify the investment, the expected return from the project would have to exceed hundreds of millions of dollars over the years.
The company's announcement said, "Energean has proposed to the governments of Cyprus and Israel to export natural gas from Israel to Cyprus via a new gas pipeline, a project with many benefits for both markets, which will promote regional cooperation in the energy sector and contribute to the development of a competitive and interconnected gas market in the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to the proposal, Energean will be responsible for the design, construction, and operation of a new underwater gas pipeline owned by the company, which will connect the Karish platform, operating in Israel's economic waters, directly to Cyprus." (Ed note: Chevron has also said that they could build a pipeline from Israel to Cyprus, then on in to Europe to supply Europe with both oil and gas. Have you noticed that all those plans would bypass the country of Turkey?) (Read More)
