The Weakest Link? Hedging Energy Security Challenges and Opportunities within the Eastern Neighborhood, The Mediterranean and the Black Sea/Caspian Region. (original) (raw)

The Politics of Natural Gas in the Middle East Today

2015

A recent development in energy security studies shows the growing significance of natural gas in international relations. Natural gas security looms large in international politics, especially in conflicting regions like the Middle East. The paper delves into the increasingly significant argument that natural gas needs much more political involvement than any other source of energy, especially oil. Based on gas importers and exporters in Middle East as case studies, the paper aims to determine the weight of energy consumer and transit states in the political process with regard to the security of gas. Consequently, it examines multiple political factors that play a role in securing gas. The impact of the geopolitical factor is particularly notable. The findings show that several issues are involved in the political relations between exporting and importing states that affect the stability of gas supply and price. In summary, the paper suggests that there is an urgent need to develop...

The geopolitical dimension of gas security in the European Union

ROSICKI Remigiusz (2020), The geopolitical dimension of gas security in the European Union, "Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne", no. 2, p. 45-73., 2020

The objective scope of the analysis performed in the text encompasses the energy security in the European Union and its member states, and includes the perspective of geopolitical conditions. The geopolitical conditions should be understood as a variety of relations between geographical conditions and decision-making processes concerned with energy security. The main objective of the text is to present a selection of theoretical problems encountered in the study of energy security, as well as to link them with such issues as gas import dependence and the risk of gas supply disruptions, mainly from the Russian direction. In order to elaborate the objective scope of analysis , the following research questions are presented: (1) To what extent do geographical conditions determine decision-making processes in the energy policy pursued by the European Union?; and (2) To what extent do geographical conditions determine threats to the security of gas supplies to the European Union and its member states? The text is chiefly an overview, but the theoretical part loosely makes use of the premises of the research program concerned with the integration of knowledge as part of the studies of energy security and energy transitions, presented by E. Brutschina, A. Cherp, J. Jewell, B. K. Sovacool and V. Vinichenka. Additionally, knowledge contained in the literature on energy and gas security has been synthesized and enriched with a critical approach, and the author's own assessments and conclusions.

Geopolitics of European natural gas demand: Supplies from Russia, Caspian and the Middle East

Energy Policy, 2009

This paper addresses issues of natural gas which raise questions about European energy security. It first focuses on the rising gas demand of the EU27 and elaborates alleged risks of dependence on Russia such as Gazprom's disagreement with Ukraine, which became an international gas crisis in January 2006 and also more recently in January 2009. Incentives and barriers of Europe's further cooperation with selected Caspian (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) and Middle Eastern (Iran, Iraq and Egypt) countries are discussed. Supplies from Caspian are analyzed with a particular focus on Russia's role and the vested interests in the region. Supplies from the Middle East are elaborated with regard to Iran's huge and Iraq's emerging potentials in terms of natural gas reserves and foreign direct investments in the energy sector. The geopolitical analysis leads to a conclusion that the best strategy, and what seems more likely, for the EU is to include at least two countries from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Iraq within its natural gas supply system.

Current Problems of Global Energy Security in Light of the Caspian Sea Region's Recent Experience

The greatest unmet need in cooperative energy security for sustainable development is the need for political coordination of the many complex technical aspects. These include the integration of production plans with pipeline construction timetables, an emphasis on multilateralism, expanded participation including intercultural dialogue, explicit concern with ecological issues, and project development to meet specific logistical goals within a strategic framework. The nature and variety of technical and geophysical obstacles require pooling of financial resources and transport facilities. The complexity of these technical problems has already required new forms of organization and decision-making.Technical problems of constructing pipelines are inseparable from the political issues of who will build and control the pipelines, who will finance and manage them, and where will they be built. Many of these desiderata cannot be accomplished without the participation of different publics enumerated above. Therefore, no "public-private partnership" but rather a tripartite strategic alliance—amongst governments, industry and publics—is necessary today.

East Mediterranean gas: a new arena for international rivalry

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ARE IRAN'S NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS IN POSITION TO ALLEVIATE EU AGONY OF ENERGY SECURITY OVER-DEPENDENCE ON RUSSIA: THE TURKISH FACTOR.

As the struggle between Russia and the West in Syria deepens, the EU is beginning to reconsider its options vis-a-vis weakening Russia's near monopoly in the European gas market. In the context of the changing international environment and the common Iranian - EU multi-polar world system geostrategic vision, Iran's role in delivering gas to Europe represents a potential alternative in the diversification of the European energy sector, in particular after the July 2015 agreement to curb Teheran's nuclear activity resulted in the international sanctions relief. Iran is seeking to bring more foreign companies into its energy sector, which according to recent BP's statistics has risen to the world's first-largest natural gas reserves (33.6 trillion cubic meters). The instability in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria, and the scheduled pipelines of the TANAP, TAP, IAP, IGB and IBR projects, constituting the EU-proposed Southern Gas Corridor, seem to be increasing the significance of the Turkish route for the diversion of Iranian gas to European markets. But will this concept alleviate the energy security geopolitical burden of the EU, or would it just replace it with an over dependence on Turkey? The author suggests an alternative of Iranian (possibly also Kazakh and Turkmen) LNG exported to EU through the Persian Gulf. And, if this is the case, what could be the role of existing and planned regasification terminals in the Eastern Mediterranean region? This paper aspires to shed light in the ongoing geostrategic battle in the western Eurasian region between United States and Russia for the price of EU and China energy security amidst the redrawing international scenery in the Middle East region. Keywords: Energy security, European Union, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, United States, Kurds, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar.

Radu Dudau and Armando Marques Guedes (2012), Energy Politics in the Black Sea Region: the geopolitics of natural gas projects, in New Regionalism or No Regionalism (org. Ruxandra Ivan), Ashgate, London, New York. As sent for publication to Ashgate.

“European Energy Security: The Geopolitics of Natural Gas Projects”, in Ruxandra Ivan (org.), New Regionalism or No Regionalism? Emerging Regionalism in the Black Sea Area: 69-94, with Radu Dudau, Ashgate, London, 2012

The chapter discusses the development prospects of the major gas projects of the Black Sea Region, planned to create European outlets for the gas producers of the Caspian Basin. The political and economic problems that beset Nabucco's progress, as well as its recent advances, receive extended attention. Its rival, the South Stream project, is debunked as a political gambit, politically operated by Moscow to undermine Nabucco and bring the transit states into its charge. The analysis is carried out against the background of a global energy environment characterized by price volatility and a gas glut. Our overall framework is geopolitical throughout.