The financial aid has been granted within the framework of Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E), as the project is considered one of the most important both for the security and diversification of European energy supplies. With the support and approval of Spain's government, Medgaz – already classified by the European Union as a 'Project of common interest – appealed for financial aid in April, 2004. This grant was requested to finance technical and optimisation studies, prior to the construction of the pipeline. Medgaz is a strategic project for both Europe as a whole and specifically for Spain and Algeria, as it guarantees secure and sustainable energy supplies, boosts competition in the internal gas market and contributes favourably towards the goals and targets of the Kyoto Protocol. The deepwater pipeline, stretching from Beni Saf in Algeria to the Spanish coast of Almeria, will have an initial capacity of 8 billion cum/yr, and will reach a maximum water depth of 2,155m. The Medgaz project was initiated in 2001 by CEPSA of Spain and Sonatrach; since then, the partnership has grown to seven members (see below). The gas supply system in its entirety consists of 500-km, 48-in diameter, onshore pipeline in Algeria that will be owned and constructed by Sonatrach, and which connects to the offshore Medgaz pipeline at Sidi Djelloul in Algeria, where the Beni Saf compressor station is sited. The Medgaz pipeline system consists of two 24-in diameter submarine pipelines, each 200km long, which cross the Mediterranean (Alboran Sea) from Sidi Djelloul, Algeria, to Almeria, Spain. The maximum water depth experienced along the route is 2155m. At the offshore pipeline receiving terminal in Almeria, a connection will be made to the 48-in diameter Spanish onshore pipeline, which will be owned and constructed by others, to connect into the Spanish grid system. The Medgaz project covers the Beni Saf compressor station, the two subsea pipelines, and two short onshore sections of high-pressure pipeline which connect the submarine pipeline to the compression and receiving facilities, respectively. The pipelines, when installed, will have the capacity to supply 16 billion cum/yr to the Iberian Peninsula and European grids by directly connecting Algerian gasfields and the Spanish gas network. Medgaz's shareholding structure includes the project's promoters, CEPSA (20%) and Sonatrach(20%), as well as BP, Endesa, Gaz de France, Iberdrola, and Total, each of whom holds a 12% interest.