Pipe dreams
Publisher: CEE Bankwatch Network
Date: January, 2015
Volume: 40, pdf
Description
After years of discussions about diversifying Europe’s gas supply to reduce dependence on Russian imports, during the last year the EU has prioritised the Southern Gas Corridor or Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline, as it has been dubbed by civil society groups. Estimated at USD 45 billion, this chain of projects would bring gas to Europe from the Shah Deniz offshore gas field in Azerbaijan, owned by BP, Russia’s Lukoil, and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR, among others. The corridor would pass through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy to other EU markets, and consist of the South Caucasus Pipeline extension (SCPx), Trans- Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and other branch lines. Later it may also include the Trans-Caspian Pipeline (TCP), which would enable the export of Turkmen gas to the EU.