A Complicated Corridor: Gas to Europe – it’s not just economics

As the deadline of the final decision on the selection of the export route of the Southern Gas Corridor to the European market is approaching, all of the involved parties – companies as well national governments - are fervently hoping that their interests will be rewarded by this strategic decision. Rival and conflicting economic and commercial interests on the part of national majors, in the context of political motivations driving gas producers and sellers as well as the energy policies of consumer countries, make the realization of this project extremely complex. The author examines the complex and thorny questions surrounding the signing of the PSA, completed with the aim of counterbalancing Russian dominance in the region and reducing the energy dependence of South East European and Balkan countries on the Russian monopolist. The current situation demonstrates that the issue of controlling the strategic infrastructure along the value chain is becoming increasingly important, and is leading to an implicit rivalry between the partners of the SD II project in acquiring the majority stake in midstream projects

Authors: Gulmira Rzayeva
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