May 2025, Vol. 252, No. 5
Features
Controversial 98-Mile Gas Pipeline to Link Malta, Italy Draws EU Pushback
By Gordon Feller, Eurasia Correspondent
(P&GJ) – There are only two years left to meet the EU’s 2027 Russian gas phase-out goal. With that deadline looming, the internal inconsistencies within the EU are now piling up. As a result, gas projects are no longer eligible for European Union financial aid under the “Trans-European Networks for Energy Regulation” (TEN-E).
Some harsh realities are affecting Europe’s gas independence from Russia. The situation is so serious for some of Europe’s prominent personalities that a small number seek to push Germany right back into Russia’s arms. The reputable German news organization DW reported on Marc 27 of this year that “members of the conservative CDU party, likely to lead the next German government, have raised the possibility of importing Russian gas again. The far right has welcomed the idea.”
European government leaders have worried since sanctions against Russian gas took effect after Ukraine’s brutal invasion. This was in addition to the attack against Nord Stream and its closure on Sept. 26, 2022. Despite this, the EU is pursuing its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean via one major regional project: the East Med pipeline, which connects the region’s energy resources to Greece via the island of Cyprus.
The other major effort on which the EU has focused is the Melita gas pipeline between Malta and Italy. In fact, the EU provided exemptions from TEN-E restrictions for two big European gas pipeline projects: EastMed and Melita. The latter is a 98-mile (159-km) pipeline proposed to move natural gas, renewable gases, and hydrogen from Gela in Italy to Delimara in Malta.
Melita faces several significant challenges, which, taken together, make it Malta’s most contentious infrastructure project. Critics argue that investing in fossil fuel infrastructure such as Melita contradicts EU and global climate goals, especially since these goals emphasize reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to renewable energies.
The pipeline risks locking Malta into decades of fossil fuel dependency, undermining the renewable energy transition advocated by various organizations, including two of note: the International Energy Agency (Paris), the Nobel Prize-winning non-profit, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
While the Maltese government claims the pipeline will enhance energy security by integrating Malta into the trans-European gas network, critics contend that Malta already has sufficient energy interconnectivity, through existing and planned electricity interconnectors with Sicily. They argue that diversifying energy sources toward renewables, rather than gas, would better address Malta’s energy security needs.
Melita is tightly linked to Electrogas, a company partly owned by Yorgen Fenech. He is facing trial for his alleged role in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. This association has raised alarm bells regarding corruption — including the misuse of public funds. Clauses in agreements with Electrogas could trigger significant payouts to its shareholders if the pipeline proceeds, further fueling controversy.
Although the project has been included in EU Projects of Common Interest (PCI) lists, making it eligible for EU funding, actual financial support remains uncertain. The European Commission has expressed reservations about justifying such investments, considering climate goals and the lack of clarity around future use for renewable gases like hydrogen.
The Maltese government claims the pipeline will eventually transport hydrogen, but critics point out that green hydrogen is not yet commercially viable. There are no clear targets or plans for its transition to hydrogen use. This fact has raised questions about the pipelines’ long-term economic sustainability.
In October 2023, Friends of the Earth Malta and The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation launched a video as part of their campaign opposing the pipeline project.
The video uncovers the unsettling reality of the Electrogas project and the proposed Melita TransGas Pipeline, which will lock Malta into burning fossil fuels for the next 40 years. A thousand citizens and representatives from 14 NGOs signed an open letter asking decision makers to ensure that no public money goes to this fossil fuel project.
The proposed Melita TransGas pipeline, estimated to cost $436 million (€400 million), was included in the EU’s fifth list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), making it eligible for EU funding. It again features on the sixth PCI list, which the European Parliament and member states now have the opportunity to reject in a vote in the week of Feb. 12.
Clauses in Electrogas agreements are set to trigger a multi-million payout to the company once the gas pipeline is completed and connected to the Electrogas power station, rewarding the ultimate beneficiary owners of the corrupt project — including Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of commissioning the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Corruption in the Electrogas project was a core part of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s investigations, which, according to the findings of the public inquiry into her assassination, possibly motivated her murder. Matthew Caruana Galizia, Daphne’s son said: “The European Union and Malta risk not only rewarding the alleged killer of Daphne Caruana Galizia but also her murder itself.”
The Friends of the Earth Malta has been especially active against this pipeline. Their climate campaign coordinator, Dr Suzanne Maas, said that “the proposed Melita TransGas pipeline would lock Malta into a fossil fuel future and signify a climate-incompatible investment, leading to stranded assets and wasting public money.”
Colin Roche, climate justice and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, added:
[T]his project is one of the last vestiges of a fossil fuel age that Europe has not yet the courage to end but which the climate crisis urgently demands we do. It is time to finally pull the plug on new fossil fuel projects and concentrate our efforts on cheap reliable renewables. The European Parliament should reject these fossil fuel projects and demand a fossil-free energy system instead.
Pressure has been building on key decision-makers: Malta’s Prime Minister, Energy Minister, and Finance Minister, as well as MEPs who form part of the ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) Committee.
Although the pipeline was included in the 6th list of “Projects of Common Interest” (PCI) in November 2023, inclusion on this list only makes it eligible for EU funding through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Access to such funding requires a separate application process and independent evaluation by experts contracted by the executive agency CINEA. As of late 2023, the project had received CEF financing for preparatory studies but not for construction, and doubts persist about its ability to secure further EU financial support.
Additionally, controversies surrounding the pipeline’s connection to Malta’s Delimara power station and its redesign as "hydrogen-ready" have raised questions about its alignment with EU energy priorities. The European Commission reportedly declined further public money support for the project, citing insufficient justification for its use with renewable gases.
PMRS Keeps Track of Obstructions
It is worth noting how the EU mandates that a project of this kind should be prepared and evaluated. A preliminary marine route survey (PMRS) was required during the project's preparatory phase. The survey was carried out on the offshore pipeline routing corridor, which is 0.75 miles (1.2 km) wide and 94 miles (151 km) long, stretching between Malta and Sicily.
This PMRS involved geophysical, geotechnical and environmental activities, which were designed to determine the characteristics for an optimal pipeline design, with minimal environmental disturbance. The PMRS was carried out using a number of different vessels, depending on the location and the type of intervention.
The geophysical survey was carried out using multiple types of equipment including a multi-beam echosounder, a side-scan sonar, a magnetometer and a sub-bottom profiler. With this equipment, it was possible to determine the area’s bathymetry and morphology.
This type of PMRS allowed the team to map all obstructions along the routes, such as existing cables, natural formations, anthropogenic objects and other artefacts. The geological stratigraphy was also determined for the corridor, which in turn allowed for the interpretation of shallow geology. Following the geophysical survey, a geotechnical and environmental sampling campaign was carried out.
These activities called for the use of different vessels and equipment from those mentioned above — including the use of drilling barges for boreholes, gravity corers, box corers, core penetration testers, Miskin bottles and plankton nets. This geotechnical phase of the survey enabled experts to determine the subsurface properties by investigating the seabed.
The environmental study allowed the investigation of seabed ecology and biodiversity by analyzing sea water quality and sediment characterization. All of the above allowed the determination of the optimal 0.31-mile (500-meter) pipeline corridor.
This will be investigated further by the front-end engineering design contractor and eventually by the EPC contractor during the final design and construction stage. Following the PMRS, a “post survey assessment” was carried out to formalize and investigate the actual findings. The marine survey was conducted by Lighthouse Corp.
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