1,900-kilometer (1,181 miles) Eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline will connect recently discovered gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean basin with European markets through Greece and Italy.
Cyprus President Anastasiades, Greek PM Mitsotakis and Israeli PM Netanyahu will on Thursday sign an accord for the construction of the long awaited pipeline. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is set to sign the agreement at a later date.
The project is being developed by IGI Poseidon SA, a joint venture of Greece’s state-owned supplier Depa SA and Edison SpA.
The European Union has said it supports the project because it will help diversify its gas supplies and boost energy security.
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo also underlined American backing for the pipeline when he attended a Cyprus-Greece-Israel trilateral summit in Jerusalem in March.
Greece's Depa also signed on Jan. 2 with Energean Oil & Gas Plc a letter of intent for the potential sale and purchase of 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Energean’s fields offshore Israel, an important step for the project’s commercial viability and its realization.
