Netanyahu: Athens agreement to transfer gas to Europe turns Israel into a superpower

A tripartite summit is being held today in Athens - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, together with his Greek counterpart and President of the Republic of Cyprus - to sign the eastern Mediterranean pipeline agreement to transfer natural gas from Israel and Cyprus to Greece, Italy and other European markets.

This follows the completion of the pilot gas pumping operation conducted by Noble Energy to pump gas from the Leviathan field on average.

On his departure, Netanyahu said that the signature would revolutionize the energy field. "We are leaving to participate in a very important summit held with the Cypriot President and the new Greek Prime Minister. We have formed an alliance in the Eastern Mediterranean, which is of great importance for the energy future of the State of Israel and its transformation into a great state in this field, as well as the stability of the region."

"The gas pipeline that we will be working on now - which Energy Minister (Yuval) Steinitz worked on for several years - is revolutionizing the image of Israeli energy," Netanyahu added.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (official) - Wednesday - stated that this project, called the "East-Med" pipeline, will transport natural gas starting in 2025.

European governments agreed with Tel Aviv last year to proceed with the project, which costs about six billion dollars, and is expected to have an initial capacity of ten billion cubic meters of gas annually.

The move comes weeks after Turkey and Libya entered into an agreement to demarcate the Mediterranean border, in a move opposed by Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

The pipeline project is owned by IGI Poseidon, a joint venture between Greek natural gas company DEPE and Italian energy company Edison.