Geopolemics.com

Countries: Greece
Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 12:30 PM
	Greece and Turkey open gas pipeline Greece and Turkey are edgy neighbours, who have, nevertheless, been getting on better of late. As a symbol of good intentions as well as for more mundane reasons, they opened a $300 million pipeline on November 18, creating an energy corridor that connects the rich natural gas fields in the Caspian Sea region to Europe, bypassing Russia and the volatile Middle East. The 300-kilometre pipeline brings natural gas from Azerbaijan to Greece and will be extended to Italy and the rest of Western Europe. The 178-mile pipeline solidifies improved ties between Greece and Turkey, linking the long-time Aegean rivals through a project that will give Caspian gas its first direct Western outlet and help ease Russia's energy dominance as oil and gas prices soar. The two leaders have sought to use an often-cited good personal bond to improve relations between their two countries, which have been strained over decades of territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea - and centuries of shared history within the Ottoman Empire, and later. Karamanlis also shares a personal bond with Erdogan after serving as a witness at his daughter's marriage in 2004. "This project will bring significant benefits both for Greece and Turkey," said Kostas Karamanlis, the Greek prime minister, who inaugurated the project with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It shows "we can live in harmony and both gain from it," Mr. Karamanlis said, shaking hands with Mr. Erdogan in a symbolic meeting on a bridge over the Evros River, which divides the countries. The pipeline, which will use natural gas pumped into Turkey from the Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan, will initially carry 250 million cubic meters of gas a year to Komotini, in north-eastern Greece, from Karacabey, in western Turkey. Its capacity is expected to triple by 2012, when Poseidon, a 132-mile undersea Greece-Italy pipeline begins operation, forming the Southern Europe Gas Ring project. "The project is extremely significant - and fundamentally political," said Julian Lee, a senior analyst with the Center for Global Energy Studies, a London-based research group. "It offers diversified supplies of energy to Europe without going through Russia - an objective encouraged by the United States." Signaling Washington's support, Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman attended the inauguration ceremony near the Greek-Turkish border. President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan also attended. Russia, the world's biggest gas and oil producer, accounts for more than 25 percent of EU gas imports, and Western officials have been scrambling for years to forge a viable energy strategy that could ease Russia's hold on European energy supplies. Greece and Turkey, meanwhile, have been trying to promote themselves as emerging energy hubs and regional power brokers with a string of energy deals. "This pipeline will boost prosperity in the region," Mr. Erdogan said. "The Silk Route will also become an energy route linking East and West through Turkey." Note: To read more, click here

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