Russia - Energy map of Europe about to be redrawn.

Russia - Energy map of Europe about to be redrawn.(Australian).

EUROPE’S energy supply options will broaden later this decade as new pipelines feed natural gas from Russia and the Caspian Sea to consumers in big Mediterranean markets such as Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Russian state-owned producer Gazprom will bring its 2400km South Stream gas pipeline on line next year while the massive BP-led Shah Deniz 2 project in Azerbaijan will link into a new Southern Gas Corridor to Europe from 2018-19.

Europe imports about 60 per cent of its natural gas, according to the International Energy Agency, with almost all of it from Russia, Norway and Algeria.

As domestic supplies dwindle and the anti-fracking debate delays any shale gas development, Europe’s gas imports are expected to rise to 80 per cent by 2030 owing to a 25 per cent jump in demand. Russia alone expects to increase its gas exports to Europe by 70 per cent over the next 15 years.

Much of that gas now is piped either through Ukraine — the setting for disputes that have threatened Europe’s security of supply — and Slovakia, Poland, Belarus and the Czech Republic, or through the newer undersea Nord Stream pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany.

While Gazprom’s South Stream project will expand the pipeline options for bringing in gas from Russia, it is Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field that offers the promise of badly needed supply diversity and competition.Read the full story here.

Related:  

NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets. 

Israel Discovers New Giant Off-Shore Oil and Gas Field.

                                               Picture source here.


Israel Discovers New Giant Off-Shore Oil and Gas Field.(INN).An Israel energy company announced Sunday it has discovered an off-shore energy field that may even surpass previous finds in terms of the possibilities of developing commercial grade oil. Israel Opportunity Energy Resources LP announced that its Pelagic licenses indicate 6.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas and 1.4 billion barrels of oil. By comparison, the previously announced Tamar and Leviathan off-shore fields contain an estimated 9 and 17 TCF of natural gas. The amount of commercial oil, if any, has not been finalized, but estimates of possible oil in the Leviathan field have been downsized to 600 million barrels. Discoveries of oil and gas have made outdated the old joke that Moses took the wrong turn from Egypt, leading Israel to sand and leaving oil for the Arabs. After being chased by Pharaoh to the edge of the “Sea of Reeds,” which often if not correctly is called the Red Sea, Moses asked Heaven to save them, and He replied to step into the sea, which then was split by winds, allowing the Jews to cross and then burying the army of Pharaoh when it followed. Stepping into the sea now can be seen in retrospect as a sign of the treasures buried under the sea. “The quantity of gas discovered in the licenses, and the high probabilities, make it the third largest offshore discovery to date,” according to Israel Opportunity chairman Ronny Halman, quoted by Globes. He added, ”This quantity guarantees Israel's energy future for decades, and makes it possible to export Israeli gas, and boost the state's revenues without worrying about gas reserves for domestic consumption."The new discoveries make it more certain of a virtual revolution in the Israeli economy, with anticipation that Israel will be energy self-sufficient in three years and soon after will be able to export gas and possibly even oil.Read the full story here.