Beyond the Southern Gas Corridor: Interconnecting Central/East Europe and the Balkans? - NAOC

October 12, 2018October 12, 2018 

Mariana Liakopoulou

Following the August signing of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), a large-scale gas pipeline project that aspires to connect the region’s copious hydrocarbon resources to the European markets, has been drawn back into international debate.

The present article illuminates how the SGC enhances the potential for cross-border interconnectivity amongst EU member-states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Balkans, as well as amongst the Energy Community contracting parties. The Energy Community is an initiative introduced at the onset of the twenty-first century by the EU and several third countries in its southeastern vicinity, focusing on the extension of the EU’s existing rules to aspirants for membership.

No, Europe Won't Get Turkmen Gas by 2019 - THE DIPLOMAT

June 02, 2017

Casey Michel

Turkmenistan’s no closer to seeing its gas reach the European markets it once envisioned.
A few years ago, as Europe roiled in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of southern Ukraine, representatives from Brussels cast about for any and all alternatives to gas imports from Russia. Including domestic fracking and LNG terminals, European officials began to push for the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor, which would transit Azerbaijan’s gas stock toward European markets via both the Trans-Adriatic (TAP) and Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) pipelines.

Rosneft and Russia's Evolving Oil Strategy Explained - THE DIPLOMAT

March 10, 2017
Nicholas Trickett

Russia’s recent deals in the Middle East aren’t just about expanding its influence, they’re part of a larger strategy.

Rosneft is deploying its preferred long-term prepayment model to political effect in Kurdistan and Libya, distributing risks between producers and consumers and taking advantage of its access to state money. That model has also earned it closer ties to trading houses like Glencore and Trafigura. The firm applied the same approach to securing a customer for its Venezuelan production—another risky market—in India with its acquisition of Essar Oil.

Trans-Caspian Subsea Gas Pipeline Project Vital For Turkey – OpEd - EURASIA REVIEW

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Haluk Direskeneli

Turkmenistan has 20+ trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas deposits. Annual gas production is around 60 bcm, where 20 bcm is used in domestic consumption. In the past, neighboring countries Russia and Iran bought natural gas, but these sales are now stopped. Today Turkmenistan can sell gas only to China, which is situated at their east border.

Earlier, Turkmen gas was priced 160 US Dollars per 1000m3, now the gas export price is reduced to 100 US dollars per 1000m3. Natural gas sales revenues have drastically decreased in time. Turkmenistan used to export natural gas to Russia and Iran in the past. Export gas volume was around 40-50 bcm. Now the export figure is down. State agencies plan to build new gas pipelines to reach Afghanistan and Pakistan. But there is no financing secured yet for this important project.