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| Africa North |
| Algeria activates Medgaz pipeline |
| 2011-03-05 |
| [Maghrebia] Algeria on Tuesday (March 1st) inaugurated the Medgaz submarine pipeline between Beni Saf and Almeria in Spain. Sonatrach CEO Nourredine Cherouati and his Medgaz counterpart, Pedro Miro, attended the opening ceremony. Cherouati symbolically opened the valve, saying that gas will reach Almeria within three hours, to give confidence to Medgaz customers awaiting the official operation, which is scheduled for the first trimester of 2011. The 1,050km long pipeline, 550km of which run through Algerian territories, cost about 900 million euros to build. With a depth of more than 2,000 metres under the sea, Medgaz will export up to 8 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year directly to Spain. Its total capacity is estimated at 11.4 billion cubic metres. Sonatrach owns 36 percent of the pipeline, while Spanish companies Iberdrola and Cepsa own 20 percent each. Additionally, the stakes of Endesa (Spain) and Gas de La Belle France are estimated at 12 percent each. Local environmental organisations expressed concerns about possible contamination in the event of pipeline damage. Sonatrach downplayed the fears. "All aspects related to the environment were addressed at the first phase of the project, and therefore there is no risk of contamination, whether land or sea, both for the region or for the rest of the project pathway," the company management said. |
| Posted by:Fred |