Azerbaijan, Baku, August 14 / Trend A. Badalova /
Uncertainty in security of gas supplies by Russia pushes European countries to purchase Iranian gas.
"The more is uncertainty towards Russian supplies, the more Iran will be considered as a potential gas supplier to Europe," analyst of Energy Security Analysis (ESAI), Andrew Reed, told Trend via E-mail.
There are more talks about possibility to supply Iranian gas to European countries. Turkish minister of energy and natural resources spoke this week about necessity for Iran to participate in the project of Nabucco gas pipeline. Turkey is one of the participants of this project.
Moreover, at present, negotiations are held on transportation of Iranian gas to Europe through Turkey and construction of a new Iranian-Turkish gas pipeline.
According to Turkish media, in Istanbul, a company has been set up in Istanbul that will provide Iranian gas supplies to Germany through Turkey. Roughly 35 billion cubic meters are planned to transport annually.
Reed said that role of natural gas in German power engineering will increase. Therefore, it has an incentive to diversify supply sources.
Nevertheless, short-term potential of Iran as a gas supplier to Europe is limited, Reed said.
"Iran needs foreign investments to develop its huge reserves. But sanctions against the country continue to restrict these investments. Relations with the West must be changed for Iran to act as a gas supplier to Europe, Reed said.
Director of Energy Department of Bruno Leoni Institute of Italy, Carlo Stagnaro, said that Iran needs time to realize these projects and create necessary infrastructure.
"Iran also needs investments in own production, which is not sufficient to meet Iranian domestic needs now and export in large volumes," Stagnaro told Trend via E-mail.
Nevertheless, Stagnaro said that consideration of Iranian gas transportation to Europe is important, especially amid the last political events in Tehran.
The more a country is connected with the rest world commercially, the more responsibility it must bear for its own internal policy, including ensuring of democracy and civil rights," Stagnaro said.
He said that EU countries are ready to buy Iranian gas.
"The EU's achievement of long-term diversification of gas supplies is profitable for it both economically and from point of view of ensuring regional security", Stagnaro said.
Moreover, it is good that new pipelines are being constructed. These pipelines save producing countries from dependence on Russia, which, in its turn, is a full guarantee of European energy security, Stagnaro said.
Iran ranks the second place on natural gas reserves in the world after Russia. According to BP, Iranian proven gas reserves of gas hits 29.61 trillion cubic meters or 16 percent of total world gas reserves as of early 2009.
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