ALGIERS�BP, Italy's ENI SPA, Endesa of Spain, and France's Gaz de France SA and TotalFinaElf SA will participate with Algerian national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Spanish company Cepsa in a feasibility study for the third Algeria-Europe gas pipeline, it was announced Tuesday.
The study, by joint venture Medgas�formed by Sonatrach and Cepsa�was announced earlier this year (OGJ Online, Sept. 12, 2000).
Sonatrach said the group of firms had been selected from a number of applicants, adding that the companies selected also were active in the Spanish energy sector and had operations in Algeria.
It said companies not selected for this stage of the project could join later phases.
The proposed 450-km pipeline would link the port of Beni Saf, in northwestern Algeria, with Almeira, in southern Spain.
Sonatrach and Cepsa said the project was technically feasible and economically attractive because of the projected increases in European gas consumption.
One of the existing pipelines provides Morocco, Spain, and Portugal with 10 billion cu m/year. The second supplies 20 billion cu m/year to Italy via Tunisia.