Trend: Turkmen Gas Through Caspian Sea to Europe

Shale revolution, alternative energy, a Russian-Iranian opposition, the discovery of major new gas fields offshore Cyprus, Israel and Egypt - all of these factors will not ultimately affect the creation of the so-called Southern Corridor for the export of Caspian gas to Europe due to a number of political and economic factors.

The economic feasibility of the Southern Gas Corridor and in particular the construction of 300 km of pipes beneath the waters of the Caspian Sea (Trans-Caspian gas pipeline) instead bend around it from the north, or from the south, is said to be cheaper and shorter. The political component of the issue is also not often publicly voiced: in European support for the construction of the Trans-Caspian because it wants to get a new source of gas supply and therefore, relative freedom from Russian dependence. The Iranian route is unacceptable to Europe because of the current confrontation with Iran and the relationship of the West in general.

However if the situation with Azerbaijani gas is clear, then there are questions about future exports of Turkmen gas. A meeting of senior representatives of energy ministries of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, was held earlier this week in Ashgabat and was another step in the achievement of this goal. The main issue in the talks was the implementation of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline.  MORE