Becoming one of the countries with richest energy resources, Turkey can easily meet its domestic needs and play the role of Europe’s natural energy bridge as the European Union is one of the world’s top energy consumer. The discovery of new natural gas resources by Turkey in the Black Sea, …
Read More »Chalous Gas Field Unlikely To Make Iran A Big Supplier
With a potential output worth $450 billion over its first 20 years, Iran’s Chalous gas field in the Caspian Sea, raises issues of both finance and where the gas might sell. The field, whose discovery Iran proclaimed in June and which has perhaps 3.5 trillion cubic meters (m3) of gas, reportedly is part …
Read More »Turkey-Azerbaijan Link Fuels Iran’s Gas Dilemmas
Sitting on 17 percent of world gas reserves, Iran should have no trouble renewing a contract to supply gas to Turkey that expires in 2025. So why are there concerns in Tehran? As the Iranian Minister of Oil Javad Owji announced September, Iran faces a daily gas deficit of 200 million cubic …
Read More »Iran Can Resolve its Gas Disputes Through Active Energy Diplomacy
The failure to resolve the problems in the Crescent contract, and the dissatisfaction on the Emirati side, show that the importance of energy diplomacy is not yet understood by the officials of the Ministry of Oil and the Iranian government. Exporting natural gas to its neighboring countries has been a top priority …
Read More »Will Iran Become a Gas Exporter to Europe?
The geography of Iran has provided special natural conditions for the country. Iran borders 13 countries, though its relations with many of its neighbors are strained. Iran’s geopolitical realities present a unique challenge to its leadership, particularly when considering the export of oil abroad. Rising tensions between Tehran and the …
Read More »The geopolitics of the Iğdir-Nakhchivan natural gas pipeline
Geopolitics in Transcaucasia have been influenced by several regional developments, ultimately having an impact on the trilateral Iranian-Azerbaijani-Turkish relations within the context of energy transport to the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan. With its vast oil and gas resources in the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan has no problem supplying the oil and …
Read More »Energy Resources and the New Great Game in the Eastern Mediterranean
Control over energy resources and transit routes has long been a source of rivalry and competition among major powers with interests in the Middle East, Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia. And since the early 2000s, a new “great game” of sorts has embroiled local and outside players in competition …
Read More »Is Turkey’s New Gas Discovery in the Black Sea a Game Changer?
In mid-August, Turkey officially announced the discovery of a massive, 320-billion-cubic-meter (bcm) natural gas field in the Black Sea, in an exploration zone called “Tuna-1” (TRT World, August 21). The news was met with some skepticism from energy experts, notably in the Middle East (Arab News, August 24). Yet, if …
Read More »China and Iran’s Strategic Partnership: A Zero Sum Game?
Iran and China first announced a long-term 25-year strategic partnership in 2016, with a draft document of the accord reportedly approved last week. Cooperation between the two countries will include China’s financial and technological participation in major projects such as highways, railways, oil and gas fields, the tourism industry, information technology and …
Read More »The Future of Iranian Natural Gas Exports to Turkey
Reducing dependence on Iranian gas will increase Turkey’s bargaining power in gas transactions. In practice, Iranian gas will not play a significant role in Turkey’s policies, which means that it can be easily removed from them and sanctioned. The diversification of energy resources is a fundamental principle of Turkey’s energy …
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