Three crucial studies about the prospects of the prospective grid interconnection that would link Greece and Egypt through the 3.5 billion-euro GREGY Interconnector project, are planned to be staged in autumn: an environmental study, a final engineering study and a seabed mapping survey, the trickiest and’s costliest of the three that will involve imaging of the seabed with a special vessel along the project’s 954-kilometer subsea route.
This latter survey is expected to require at least six months to complete. A vessel to take on the seabed mapping is expected to be commissioned in autumn through a tender.
Great water depths, such as those to be encountered in this East Mediterranean region, require expertise and experience possessed by few companies in the world.
Elica, a subsidiary of the Copelouzos group established to promote the Greek-Egyptian GREGY Interconnector, has come up with a budget estimate of 15 million euros for the seabed scan. Given the survey’s deep-sea nature and the fact that the proposed route’s seabed remains largely unknown as the area it covers has never before been scanned in detail, survey costs could escalate beyond initial estimates. Bad weather could also delay the effort. At best, a Final Investment Decision should not be expected before mid-2024.
