Upon the invitation of the organizers IENE’s Executive Director participated in the 9th European Gas Conference, held in Vienna last week (January 19-21) where he took part in the panel discussion which covered latest developments in the South Corridor. The panel, which was introduced by John Roberts and chaired by Doug Wood dealt with the latest geopolitical developments in the region and how these affected the South Corridor, construction. The other two panel participants were Dr. Gulmira Rzayeva of Ajerbaijan’s Center for Strategic Studies and Mr. Patrick Hebreard of CEG EuropeUpon the invitation of the organizers IENE’s Executive Director participated in the 9th European Gas Conference, held in Vienna last week (January 19-21) where he took part in the panel discussion which covered latest developments in the South Corridor. The panel, which was introduced by John Roberts and chaired by Doug Wood dealt with the latest geopolitical developments in the region and how these affected the South Corridor, construction. The other two panel participants were Dr. Gulmira Rzayeva of Ajerbaijan’s Center for Strategic Studies and Mr. Patrick Hebreard of CEG Europe.
In his intervention IENE’s Executive Director pointed out that "as construction of the TANAP-TAP gas pipeline system gets underway and the foundations of the South Corridor are being laid, interest is fast rising in Europe and USA concerning the future role of the South Corridor as an alternative entry gate for gas which will help Europe diversify its energy supplies. It has taken more than ten (10) years for TANAP-TAP to reach construction stage whereas the anticipated gas quantities to be delivered to EU 28 are minimal (at 10 bcma by 2019/2020 and 20 bcma after 2025) compared to EU’s annual demand anticipated to reach ≈550 bcma by 2020”.
Mr. Stambolis also made reference to the considerable activity now in evidence in the SE European and East Mediterranean region where several gas exploration projects are in the development stage with important gas discoveries such as the Leviathan field in Israel, Zohr in Egypt and Aphrodite (which borders with Zohr) in Cyprus’ EEZ. A number of alternative plans are under discussion for channeling this gas to Turkey, for local consumption, but also to Europe proper for transit to the continent’s main gas markets. These plans include gas pipelines, liquefaction plants for LNG export and FSRU terminals to be tied up into the TANAP-TAP system. The now defunct South Stream and its possible successor the Turkish Stream, should also be considered as a potentially vital gas supply route.
Furthermore, the Turkish Stream pipeline raises the prospect for the stalled ITGI natural gas pipeline being developed. ITGI (Greece- Italy Gas Interconnector) was also included in the European Commission’s latest PCI list although it is not linked as yet to any particular gas supplier. Consequently Russia’s latest proposal for natural gas supply to Europe via the Greek- Turkish border could incorporate ITGI into its plan. "The common element of all these projects”, as Mr. Stambolis stressed, "is the drive to supply gas to Europe along east-west and south to north axes. To this end, IENE has already completed a number of relevant studies.
As IENE’s Executive Director concluded, "in view of several new projects under development in the region, it is time to redefine the South Corridor by including these new potential gas supply sources and routes. Therefore an expanded South Corridor should be considered and defined as such, to include all major gas trunk pipelines and terminals which will feed gas into the system to which will then be directed towards the main European markets. An expanded South Corridor with its multiple gas entry points and linked underground gas storage and LNG facilities will provide the necessary background for the operation of regional Gas Trading Hubs as IENE has already proposed in a relevant study”.
The full intervention by IENE’s Executive Director has been uploaded in the Report section of this site.
NB. The following is a list of IENE’s relevant studies:
¨"Europe's Natural Gas Supply Prospects, the South Corridor and the Role of Greece", an IENE Assessment Study (2012)
¨"The Role of Greece as a Supply Route to Europe in View of Latest Gas Discoveries in the East Mediterranean”, an IENE Research Note (2012)
¨"The Outlook for a Natural Gas Trading Hub in SE Europe” (IENE Study Project No. M19, September 2014)”
¨"The Vertical Corridor from the Aegean to the Baltic” an IENE study (2015)”
