The massive LNG tanker in the middle of Marsaxlokk Bay will be there for many years as, although a gas pipeline with Sicily is technically possible, the project is still on the drawing board.

Minister Without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi yesterday repeated remarks made by the Prime Minister that the LNG tanker will sail off once the pipeline is in place. However, sources close to Enemalta told the Times of Malta that it will not happen overnight.

“The proposed pipeline between Malta and Sicily has been on the cards for many years, however to date, these are just plans on a drawing board,” the sources said.

“The impression the government is trying to give, that the pipeline is round the corner, is not correct. The tanker will be at Marsaxlokk for the foreseeable future, as there are no immediate plans to start constructing any pipeline,” the sources said.

Asked to say whether Enemalta had any plans to start the pipeline project, a spokesman for the State entity distanced himself from it and said the question should be asked of the government. Enemalta’s finances are still in the red, and the company will require funds to invest in the pipeline.

The Office of the Prime Minister is refusing to give information on the state of play of the gas pipeline project.

The impression the government is trying to give is not correct... there are no immediate plans to start constructing any pipeline

Electrogas, the consortium building the new gas plant, said that the contract on the LNG tanker runs for 18 years. The company, whose local shareholders are the Tumas and Gasan groups, said the agreement it had with Enemalta also catered for the eventuality of a gas pipeline. Electrogas refused to say when this would become possible.

The government has repeated that a pipeline to Sicily will replace the LNG tanker.

In 2012, following an EU summit focusing on energy issues, then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced Malta’s intention to start considering the building of a gas pipeline.

While saying that a feasibility study would be launched, Dr Gonzi warned that a pipeline took years to construct and would cost millions.

The feasibility study concluded that the best option would be to have a 149-kilometre pipeline with a diameter of some 22 inches between Delimara and Gela in Sicily.

The study said that following the completion of the first phase, a second phase could allow for the potential bi-directional flow of gas through the pipeline by installing a floating LNG storage and regasification unit (FSRU) approximately 12 kilometres offshore from Delimara.

Instead of taking this approach, the new Labour government in 2013 opted to install a permanent floating storage unit (FSU) inside Marsaxlokk Bay while continuing with the study to identify the best route for the pipeline.

Through another EU-fund scheme, a second desktop study is now establishing the route from which the pipeline can pass.

The latter study is not expected to be completed until the middle of next year.

“At that stage, and only if the government decides to continue with the project, a raft of other studies will have to be made, including  environmental impact assessments, marine studies, a biodiversity survey and a landfall site survey, among others. It will only be at the end of all these studies that such a massive project can start,” the sources said.

According to a preliminary study made in 2002, a pipeline between Delimara and Gela would cost over €100 million. Costs have increased since then and a new study will be needed to establish the necessary capital outlay.

ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com