Interconnector Turkey–Greece–Italy

The Interconnector Turkey–Greece–Italy (ITGI) is a natural gas transportation project proposed in the framework of the Southern Gas Corridor. It was proposed for the transportation of natural gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field Phase II to markets in Europe via Greece and Italy. The Turkey–Greece pipeline was completed in 2007 while the future of the Greece–Italy pipeline project is unclear due to the competing Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

Turkey–Greece pipeline
Location
Country	Turkey Greece
From	Karacabey, Turkey
To	Komotini, Greece
General information
Type	natural gas
Construction started	2005
Commissioned	2007
Technical information
Length	296 km (184 mi)
Maximum discharge	11 billion cubic metres per annum (390×10^^9 cu ft/a)
Diameter	36 in (914 mm)

Greece–Italy pipeline
Location
Country	Greece, Italy
General direction	east–west
From	Komotini, Greece
Passes through	Ionian Sea
To	Otranto, Italy
General information
Type	natural gas
Partners	DEPA, Edison S.p.A.
Operator	IGI Poseidon SA
Technical information
Length	807 km (501 mi)
Maximum discharge	8 billion cubic meters per year
Diameter	42 in (1,067 mm)

Turkey–Greece pipeline

The Turkey–Greece pipeline is a 296 kilometres (184 mi) natural gas pipeline, which connects Turkish and Greek gas grids. The pipeline begins in Karacabey in Turkey and runs to Komotini in Greece.

History

The agreement between Turkish gas company BOTAŞ and Greek gas company DEPA was signed on 28 March 2002. The intergovernmental agreement to build a natural gas pipeline between the two countries was signed on 23 December 2003 in Ankara. The foundation of pipeline was laid on 3 July 2005 by the prime ministers Kostas Karamanlis and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It was completed in September 2007.[1][2] The pipeline was officially inaugurated on 18 November 2007.[3]

Technical description

The length of Turkish section is 210 kilometres (130 mi), of which 17 kilometres (11 mi) are under the Sea of Marmara. The length of Greek section is 86 kilometres (53 mi). The diameter of pipeline is 36 inches (910 mm) and the capacity is 7 billion cubic metres (250 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year.[4]

Greece–Italy pipeline

The Greece–Italy pipeline (Poseidon pipeline) is a proposed natural gas pipeline between Greece and Italy. It was developed by IGI Poseidon SA, a joint venture between DEPA and Italian Edison S.p.A..[5]

History

The feasibility study for the Greece–Italy pipeline was conducted in 2003. The study was funded by the European Commission.[6]

The memorandum of understanding for the construction of pipeline was signed between DEPA and Edison on 28 April 2005. It was followed by an intergovernmental agreement signed on 4 November 2005 in Rome by Italian Minister for Productive Activities Claudio Scajola and Greek Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas. Also the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Hilmi Güler was present at the ceremony. On 31 January 2007, Italy's Minister of Economic Development Pier Luigi Bersani, and Greek minister Dimitris Sioufas granted exclusive usage rights of the pipeline to Edison S.p.A. and DEPA for 25 years.[7] This was approved by the European Commission in May 2007.[8] On 26 July 2007, the additional protocol on construction was signed in Rome. On 11 June 2008, the project company for the offshore section IGI Poseidon SA was incorporated in Italy with 50% stakes held by DEPA and Edison.[5]

In February 2011, the engineering consultancy Penspen was awarded the basic engineering design contract for the on-shore section of the pipeline from Komotini in to Igoumenitsa, Thesprotia.[9][10] In September 2011, the technical feasibility was confirmed by a marine survey completed by Fugro GeoConsulting.

Technical description

The length of Greece–Italy pipeline would be more than 807 kilometres (501 mi), of which 590 kilometres (370 mi) would be onshore pipeline in Greece and more than 217 kilometres (135 mi) would be laid on the seabed of Ionian Sea. The pipeline would be connected to the Turkey–Greece pipeline outside Komotini and would run to Igoumenitsa, Thesprotia. The offshore section would be built between Igoumenitsa and Otranto in Apulia region.[11] The offshore section would cost €500 million and the Greek section will cost €600 million.

The capacity of pipeline would be 8 billion cubic metres (280 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year.[5] 80% of the transmission capacity would be reserved to Edison SpA, while 20% would be reserved to DEPA.[8]

Greece-Bulgaria pipeline

On 14 July 2009, Bulgarian Energy Holding signed an agreement with DEPA and Edison S.p.A. on setting up a company to construct and operate the branch pipeline Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria with capacity of one billion cubic meters of gas per year.[4] The pipeline will be 160 kilometres (99 mi) between Komotini and Stara Zagora in Bulgaria.[4]

See also

• Nabucco pipeline
• South Caucasus Pipeline
• South Stream

References

1. "Start-up delay for Turkey-Greece pipe". Upstream Online. NHST Media Group. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
2. "Turkish-Greek pipeline now complete". Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections. 2007-09-06. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
3. Eric Watkins (2007-11-20). "Greece-Turkey gas pipeline link inaugurated". Oil & Gas Journal. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
4. "Bulgaria, Greece agree to link pipelines for delivery of Azerbaijan gas". Trend News Agency. 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
5. "Edison, Depa Set Up Company for Italy-Greece Gas Pipeline". Downstream Today. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
6. "EU approves grant for study on Greece, Italy natgas link". Europe Intelligence Wire. Financial Times. 2003-08-05. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
7. George Hatzidakis (2007-01-31). "Greece-Italy pipeline to ease Russia gas reliance". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
8. "EU conditionally approves new Greece-Italy gas pipeline". Forbes. 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
9. "Penspen Lands FEED for Greece-Italy Natural Gas Interconnector". OilVoice. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
10. Badalova, A. (2011-02-16). "Greece awards Penspen FEED for IGI". Trend News Agency. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
11. "PM briefed on Greece-Italy underwater natural gas pipeline". Athens News Agency. 2007-07-25. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-07-20.

External links

• Poseidon project website