Prime Minister Joseph Muscat revealed yesterday that an agreement has already been signed stating that the LNG tanker would be moored in Marsaxlokk only until a gas pipeline with Italy was in place.
Addressing a press conference at the end of a two-day EU summit in Brussels, Dr Muscat focused on the LNG project, reiterating the tanker would not pose any safety risks.
“However, we already said that the ship will sail away once the gas pipeline with Italy is in place,” Dr Muscat said, adding he did not want to give the impression the pipeline would happen soon.
It would take “a minimum of another eight to nine years,” he pointed out.
Work on the pipeline with Sicily has yet to start and the project is still at the feasibility study stage.
Dr Muscat said this EU-funded study would be finalised by the end of this year and the findings would then be submitted to Brussels for potential financing of the project.
Previous studies had shown that a gas pipeline could cost about €400 million.
When it was pointed out that the private consortium owning the LNG tanker would be investing about €320 million in facilities, including a jetty and a regasification unit, Dr Muscat replied that the government already an arrangement with Electrogas.
We already said that the ship will sail away once the gas pipeline with Italy is in place
“We have already agreed with the private consortium that the ship will leave Marsaxlokk when the gas pipeline is in place. This pays the consortium too because it will mean less costs for them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Muscat praised the summit’s conclusions on energy, saying these were in line with Malta’s policy to diversify its sources.
According to the conclusions, the EU will work on the “further diversification of its energy supplies” and, where relevant, “interconnections should be developed with third countries”.
Dr Muscat said that, in view of such declarations, Malta might look at developing a gas pipeline with Libya “when the political situation in the country permits”.
He announced that, in June, Malta will host an EU meeting on energy with its Mediterranean counterparts.