A History of International Oil Politics: Theoretical Perspectives and Case Studies by Murad Gassanly

Author:Murad Gassanly [Gassanly, Murad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781680532319
Google: YUOAzQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 55263594
Publisher: Academica Press
Published: 2020-01-15T09:53:51+00:00

SGC - a rationalist model

A Rationalist model of SGC is epistemologically and ontologically congruent with that of BTC, the two elements forming part of a wider geo-strategic confrontation in international oil politics, marked by the moment in the 1990s, “when the U.S. decided to challenge Russia’s domineering hold on Central Asia and the Caucasus by championing the construction of independent oil and natural gas pipelines from these former Soviet hinterlands to the West” (LeVine, 2.12.2014; see also, Yergin, 2012, pp.341-343; Kandiyoti, 2012, pp.163-172).

The launch of the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) in 2006 heralded the next round of interstate competition for energy dominance, with Russia seeking to stem growing power of the U.S. and the EU (Yergin, 2012, p.342; BP 4, 2017). The same year Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute brought into sharp relief EU’s dependence not only on Russian gas but also on Russian-controlled gas transmission infrastructure in Europe (BBC News, 01.01.2006).

With demand growing exponentially through 2000s, natural gas was increasingly being seen as the “fuel of the future” – a relatively low-carbon resource that could help reduce use of coal and oil in energy generation and transport (Yergin, 2012, p. 343). The EU was seeking to increase and to diversify its gas supplies and supply-routes, while the United States was seeking to expand influence in the post-Soviet sphere and across Central Asia (especially so in the wake of 9/11 attacks) (LeVine, 02.12.2014; Kandiyoti, 2012, pp. 170-171). With BTC fully operational the stage was set for a new gas pipeline to bring “non-Russian gas to Europe by skirting Russia’s southern border” (Yergin, 2012, p. 342).

The strategic rationale for what came to be Southern Gas Corridor was first laid out in the proposal for Nabucco gas pipeline (so called in reference to the Verdi opera) (Yergin, 2012, p.342; LeVine, 02.12.2014). The ambitious project envisaged a single transmission system carrying gas from Erzurum in Turkey all the way to Vienna, Austria (see Map 3).

The project, spearheaded by a consortium of mostly European companies, quickly won the backing of the United States and Europe (Taylor, 22.02.2008; Cendrowicz, 13.07.2009). The EU Commission identified it as a project of strategic significance and a host of intergovernmental agreements were signed in 2009 between Nabucco Co and each of participating transit countries - Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria (Van Aartsen, 2009, pp.2-3; Turkish Press, 13.07.2009). By 2012 a financing framework was established, involving participating states, companies and important international financial institutions, including World Bank and the European Investment Bank (DW staff, 29.01.2009).

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