The Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline (''TransMed''; also ''Enrico Mattei gas pipeline'') is a natural gas pipeline from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

via

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and thence to mainland

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. An extension of the TransMed pipeline delivers Algerian gas to

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

History

The pipeline from Algeria to Italy was proposed in 1960s. A preliminary feasibility study was conducted in 1969 and the first route survey in 1970. In 1974–75, technical tests of laying pipes in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

were carried out. In 1977, supply and transit agreements were signed. The first phase of pipeline was constructed in 1978–1983 and second phase in 1991–1994. The capacity of the pipeline was doubled in 1994. In 2000, the gas pipeline was named after

Enrico Mattei Enrico Mattei (; 29 April 1906 – 27 October 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II he was given the task of dismantling the Italian petroleum agency Agip, a state enterprise established by the Fascist regime. I ...

. In the fall of 1997, a terrorist attack severed the pipeline in Algeria for five days. The pipeline was listed under the

Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative The Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative (CFDI) is a strategy and list, maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security, of foreign infrastructure which "if attacked or destroyed would critically impact the U.S." A copy of the 2 ...

by the United States in a diplomatic cable leaked to

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...

. On February 28, 2010, a new section was completed in

Bir El Ater Bir el Ater ( ar, بئر العاتر) is a city located in far eastern Algeria. It is located towards the border with Tunisia, around 87 kilometers south of Tebessa and just beyond the Sahara. The town has a population of approximately 80,000 inh ...

, Tebessa Province, which was expected to increase transport capacity by .

Route

The pipeline begins from the

Hassi R'mel Hassi R'Mel ( ar, حاسي الرمل, Berber language: Ḥasi Eṛṛmel) is a town in Algeria located near the 18th largest gas field worldwide. Hassi R'Mel is located in Laghouat Province northwest of Ghardaïa. It is the capital of Hassi R'M ...

field in Algeria and runs to the Tunisian border. In Tunisia, the pipeline runs for to

El Haouaria El Haouaria is a coastal town and commune in the Nabeul Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 9,273. See also *List of cities in Tunisia This is the list of 350 cities and towns in Tunisia. In the list by governorate, c ...

, in the

Cap Bon Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli; Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Ra ...

region, after which it crosses the -wide

Channel of Sicily The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...

. It landfalls in

Mazara del Vallo Mazara del Vallo (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, southwestern Sicily, Italy. It lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the Mazaro river. It is an agricultural and fishing centre and its port gives shelter to the ...

in Sicily. From there, the pipeline continues in Sicily, across the

Strait of Messina The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...

and in Italian mainland to northern Italy with a branch to Slovenia.

Technical description

The Algerian section consists of a compressor station and two lines with diameter. The Tunisian section consists of three compressor stations and two lines of diameter. In 2007, SCOGAT (''Société pour la Construction du Gazoduc Transtunisien'') awarded the Italian contractor

Saipem Saipem S.p.A. (Società Anonima Italiana Perforazioni E Montaggi lit. ''Drilling and Assembly Italian Public Limited Company'') is an Italian multinational oilfield services company and one of the largest in the world. Until 2016 it was a subsid ...

a contract for two new gas compression stations and the upgrading of the existing compressor stations allowing to increase the capacity of Tunisian section by 6.5 bcm. The royalties for the gas transport received by Tunisia are 5.25 — 6.75 percent value of the transported gas. The offshore section across Channel of Sicily consists three lines with diameter of and two lines with diameter of . In Italy, the diameter of two lines varies between and . In 2012 the capacity of the pipeline increased from 30.2 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas per year up to 33.5 bcm by 2012.

Operators

Algerian section is operated by Algerian state-owned company

Sonatrach Sonatrach ( ar, سوناطراك; french: Société Nationale pour la Recherche, la Production, le Transport, la Transformation, et la Commercialisation des Hydrocarbures) is the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1963, it is ...

. The Tunisian section is owned by the state-owned Sotugat (Société Tunisienne du Gazoduc Trans-tunisien) and operated by TTPC (Eni group, 100%). The section across the Channel of Sicily is operated by TMPC, a joint venture of Eni and Sonatrach. The Italian section is operated by

Snam Rete Gas Snam S.p.A. is an Italian energy infrastructure company. As of 31 December 2019, it had a market capitalization of €15.4 billion. Snam was originally a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni. It has since become an independent company, who ...

References

{{coord, 44.6080, N, 11.5004, E, source:wikidata, display=title Energy infrastructure completed in 1983 Natural gas pipelines in Italy Natural gas pipelines in Algeria Natural gas pipelines in Tunisia Italy–Tunisia relations Eni Algeria–Italy relations Algeria–Tunisia relations Pipelines under the Mediterranean Sea 1983 establishments in Algeria 1983 establishments in Tunisia 1983 establishments in Italy