LONDON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- British oil and gas engineering company Penspen Ltd. said it won a contract to design the onshore section of a natural gas pipeline connecting Greece to Italy.
Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator awarded Penspen a contract for part of the Greece-Italy natural gas interconnector. IGI forms part of the Southern Corridor of transit networks that Europe hopes will ease the Russian grip on the regional energy sector.
Europe gets about 25 percent of its natural gas from Russia, though 80 percent of that travels through Ukraine's Soviet-era pipeline system.
The 360-mile onshore section of the natural gas pipeline will stretch from the western coast of Greece across the country before it connects to the IGI.
The system will use gas from a Turkish pipeline system and transport it to an Italian system to move Caspian gas to European markets.
Mike Dobson, director of onshore activities for Penspen, said the project, the first of the Southern Corridor projects, will increase gas security for the European community.
"The development of the Southern Corridor is crucial to ensuring the future stability of Europe's gas supply and Penspen is delighted to be involved with this strategic project through its work on the IGI," he said in a statement.
