Caspian Report - Issue: 07 - Spring 2014

CASPIAN Report
2
The urgent need to diversify energy supply sources hit
the European policy agenda as geopolitical complications
in and among the region’s supply and transit countries.
As a consequence, Europe has increasingly been
feeling the strain of high import dependence. Projects
of common interest announced by the EU, of which one
is the Southern Gas Corridor, are aimed at bringing alternative
energy sources through diversified routes to
ensure European energy security.
Notwithstanding key developments that have eased immediate
concerns over energy supply - including the
shale gas revolution in the US i , increased efficiency
measures for energy use, growth in the production of
renewable energy, and the stagnant trend in natural gas
demand - the need for diversification and energy security
has by no means disappeared. In this regard, the
Southern Gas Corridor remains one of the most feasible
and reliable projects on the ground in terms of providing
a secure energy supply from the Caspian to Europe.
Efgan Niftiyev
Editor-in-Chief
Twitter: @enifti
efgan.niḟtiẏev@hazar.org
The Caspian Report continues to monitor and evaluate
the European energy outlook, providing incisive policy
analysis on key developments. In the cover story of Caspian
Report, Aura Sabadus of King’s College discusses
the Southern Gas Corridor and its potential to provide
genuine diversification for Europe. Another key component
of the Southern Corridor, the Trans Adriatic
Pipeline (TAP) project, is explored in detail by Davide
Tabarelli, Antonio Sileo and Matteo Verda. A prominent
voice in energy studies, Frank Umbach, assesses the
strategic perspectives for unconventional gas in the EU
in the context of resistance to fracking for shale gas from
European publics and policy makers alike.