111
Russia called technical issue, energy was cut to Lithuania, followed in 2007 by an
increase in gas prices to Georgia (www.geopolitics.inform 2015).
The Southern Gas Corridor was initiated by the “European Commission” (EC)
with the aim of diversifying the EU’s gas supply to defend against such geopolitical
use of gas by a power laying beyond its influence by investing in the infrastructure
required to transport gas from the Caspian basin and Middle East (primary
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Iraq) to the European market. Political and
economic concerns, as well as lack of developed infrastructure and gas resources,
make Azerbaijan the only sure partner in this project (www.brusselsenergyclub.org
2017a, b) (Fig. 3.1).
The EU aims to increase its energy security and has a number of options such as
increasing gas storage facilities, increasing energy efficiency, and also increasing
efforts to construct regasification power plants. However, with few of its own
reserves, such measures can only have a limited effect. The block’s major policy
option is diversification of supply and transit routes through a network of pipelines
summarized as the Southern Gas Corridor (Steven et al. 2014:138). The geopolitics
and geo-economic quest to establish the Southern Gas Corridor has involved many
actors as discussed above (Steven et al. 2014:138).
However, according to Miguel Arias Canete, the Southern Corridor ought to be
the EU’s top priority, and EU member states must apply all efforts for the plans to
be realized. Iranian gas may also connect to the project, if an agreement can be
reached (Kaysi 2011:63). Around the end of 2013, and especially after the Ukrainian
crisis, the EU decided to give much more attention to the diversification of its energy
resources. Diversification of energy for the EU is one of the main pillars of the
Energy Union—the Union’s other priorities being,
1. Increasing security, solidarity, and trust,
2. Tightening the internal energy market,
3. Modulation of demand,
4. Decarbonization of the energy mix, and
5. Research and innovation. (www.energypost.eu 2015)
Although wishing to break Gazprom’s monopoly on supplies, the EU’s energy
demands are ever-increasing and some countries in the block already depend on
Russia for almost all of their energy needs. This has spurned talks between the EU
and other powers aiming at investigating the utility of investing in such plans as the
Southern Gas Corridor and TANAP projects, as well sources supply from the Shah
Deniz 2, none of which will be realized quickly (Schröder et al. 2017:254).
According to the SGC plan, gas from Shah Deniz Phase 2 gas transit from the
Caspian Sea with the aid of a 3500 km pipeline into Europe. This involves the
improvement of some existing infrastructure as well as the development of a multiple new pipeline; using the current South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and expanding
new parallel pipelines across Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Trans-Anatolian Pipeline
(TANAP) will transport gas from the Shah Deniz across Turkey. The Trans-Adriatic
Pipeline (TAP) will then take gas across Greece and Albania into Italy. This is arguably the global oil and gas industry’s most significant and ambitious undertaking
Regional Security and Economic Organization and Projects
Russia called technical issue, energy was cut to Lithuania, followed in 2007 by an
increase in gas prices to Georgia (www.geopolitics.inform 2015).
The Southern Gas Corridor was initiated by the “European Commission” (EC)
with the aim of diversifying the EU’s gas supply to defend against such geopolitical
use of gas by a power laying beyond its influence by investing in the infrastructure
required to transport gas from the Caspian basin and Middle East (primary
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Iraq) to the European market. Political and
economic concerns, as well as lack of developed infrastructure and gas resources,
make Azerbaijan the only sure partner in this project (www.brusselsenergyclub.org
2017a, b) (Fig. 3.1).
The EU aims to increase its energy security and has a number of options such as
increasing gas storage facilities, increasing energy efficiency, and also increasing
efforts to construct regasification power plants. However, with few of its own
reserves, such measures can only have a limited effect. The block’s major policy
option is diversification of supply and transit routes through a network of pipelines
summarized as the Southern Gas Corridor (Steven et al. 2014:138). The geopolitics
and geo-economic quest to establish the Southern Gas Corridor has involved many
actors as discussed above (Steven et al. 2014:138).
However, according to Miguel Arias Canete, the Southern Corridor ought to be
the EU’s top priority, and EU member states must apply all efforts for the plans to
be realized. Iranian gas may also connect to the project, if an agreement can be
reached (Kaysi 2011:63). Around the end of 2013, and especially after the Ukrainian
crisis, the EU decided to give much more attention to the diversification of its energy
resources. Diversification of energy for the EU is one of the main pillars of the
Energy Union—the Union’s other priorities being,
1. Increasing security, solidarity, and trust,
2. Tightening the internal energy market,
3. Modulation of demand,
4. Decarbonization of the energy mix, and
5. Research and innovation. (www.energypost.eu 2015)
Although wishing to break Gazprom’s monopoly on supplies, the EU’s energy
demands are ever-increasing and some countries in the block already depend on
Russia for almost all of their energy needs. This has spurned talks between the EU
and other powers aiming at investigating the utility of investing in such plans as the
Southern Gas Corridor and TANAP projects, as well sources supply from the Shah
Deniz 2, none of which will be realized quickly (Schröder et al. 2017:254).
According to the SGC plan, gas from Shah Deniz Phase 2 gas transit from the
Caspian Sea with the aid of a 3500 km pipeline into Europe. This involves the
improvement of some existing infrastructure as well as the development of a multiple new pipeline; using the current South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and expanding
new parallel pipelines across Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Trans-Anatolian Pipeline
(TANAP) will transport gas from the Shah Deniz across Turkey. The Trans-Adriatic
Pipeline (TAP) will then take gas across Greece and Albania into Italy. This is arguably the global oil and gas industry’s most significant and ambitious undertaking
Regional Security and Economic Organization and Projects