Geopolitical Implications of the Nabucco Defeat | Caspian Research Institute

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The decision to select the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline as the export route for gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field has opened the way for Azerbaijan to become a serious player in Europe’s gas market. Speculation has now turned towards the geopolitical implications of the choice – some of which are rather different from what’s being claimed.

The choice of TAP was somewhat unexpected. Admittedly its rival, Nabucco West, had been looking less and less watertight over the past couple of years but its aim of taking gas through the Balkans and into central Europe, rather than to Italy like TAP, was still seen as a strategic asset. Both the EU and Azerbaijan itself had expressed support for a central European route, in order to diversify the region’s gas supply away from Russia and to diversify Azerbaijan’s customer base."

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