Publication

This paper looks at the advantages, difficulties and uncertainties associated with the Nabucco pipeline project to transport energy from Central Asia to the EU. It argues that the measures implemented by Russia in the last few years have called into question the advisability of building the pipeline. The author presents a series of difficulties and uncertainties involved: competition from the South Stream pipeline; problems in accessing Turkmen gas reserves; the limitations of Azeri gas; the remote chances of gaining access to reserves of the Middle East; the risk of saturating the European market; and the lack of a common European energy supply strategy.