Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi have high hopes for Malta’s energy future, going as far as suggesting that Malta can become an energy hub, funnelling energy from North Africa to Europe.
Although a prosperous idea, several problems arise when looking at the current situation in North Africa. The unstable region has been in and out of turmoil for the better part of the past four years, and with tensions again on the rise in Libya, could the region really be used to supply energy to Europe?
Several questions were sent to the Energy Ministry by this newsroom. “Which country was the Minister referring to when putting forth the idea to import energy from North Africa, and where would the pipeline pass through? Given the current escalation in the military situations in Libya, do you believe the idea of Malta becoming an energy hub in the centre of the Mediterranean is still valid? Why?”
The final question was; “The North African region has proven to be quite volatile and even if the situation in Libya dies down, the region itself is still prone to local clashes. Do you believe it safe to focus Europe’s efforts on the importation of energy from North Africa? Couldn’t this put Europe in a position where it would rely on unstable nations for the importation energy?”
The only response received from the Ministry was one that frankly sounds like a PR piece taken straight out of a speech.
“Malta believes that the Mediterranean region offers an untapped potential in terms of security of energy supply and Malta is well placed to become an energy hub. The very idea of creating a Mediterranean Energy Platform is precisely to encourage more cooperation between the Mediterranean countries. This is a concept which is being explored further under the Italian Presidency and with the European Commission.”
On July 10, 2014, an Energy conference for Energy Ministers was held in Malta, with Minister Konrad Mizzi speaking on behalf of Malta.
In the wake of the Ukrainian crisis, and Russia’s distancing from Europe, the EU feels the need to diversify its energy strategy.Currently,a large proportion of the importation of gas to Europe comes from Russia and goes through the Ukraine. Around half of Russian gas imported in 2013 comes through Ukraine, accounting for around 15% of EU gas consumption. Last year, Europe imported some 162 billion cubic meters of gas from Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which accounts for around a third of Europe’s overall consumption.
Dr Mizzi portrayed Malta as a potential gas supply link between North Africa and Europe, whilst Cyprus (also seeking to become an energy hub), pitched it’s discovery of sizeable oil and gas reserves between Cyprus and Levant as well as nearby Egypt.
Malta occupies a strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean, the Maltese Energy Minister said, arguing that the EU needs to strive to diversify its energy sources. The Mediterranean, he said, was crucial to do so, stating that “opportunity was staring us in the eyes,” due to the significant resources that were still untapped.
Dr Mizzi had observed the Commissions’ Energy Security Strategy called for greater cooperation and the setting up of a gas hub in the Mediterranean.
A serious problem arises, that of the fluctuating and unstable nature of the North African states close to Malta. Libya, being a prime choice, had seen a revolution in 2011 and now, only three years later, has once again fallen into turmoil.A number of militias have thrown Libya into a state of turmoil, with open war occurring between factions and Tripoli airport having been at the centre of the fighting on more than one occasion.
Certain people have said that one of the Libyan militias have links to Al Qaeda, which further ignites this problem.