US continue to promote competition and prevent monopolies of energy markets, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.
"Another focus of our energy diplomacy is helping to promote competition and prevent monopolies. Consider what's been happening in Europe. For decades, many European nations received much of their natural gas via pipeline from one country: Russia. Few other sources were available. But that has now changed in part because of the increased production here in the United States, there's a lot more natural gas in the global market looking for a home. Plus, there's natural gas in the Caspian and in Central Asia. They'd like to sell it, and Europe would like to buy it ", Clinton said on Thursday in a speech at Georgetown University on U.S. energy security.
By her words, they need to build pipelines.
"The goal of a project called the Southern Corridor, which would stretch across the European continent. The United States has been an active partner to all those participants to help move this project to fruition", Secretary of State highlighted.
"We want to see countries grow and have stronger economies, but also because energy monopolies create risks. Anywhere in the world, when one nation is overly dependent on another for its energy, that can jeopardize its political and economic independence. It can make a country vulnerable to threats and coercion. And that's why NATO has identified energy security as a key security issue of our time. It's also why we created the U.S.-European Union Energy Council to deepen our cooperation on strategic energy issues", Clinton said.
Gas, which will be produced during the second phase of the field development is considered as the main source for the Southern corridor projects, in particular, Nabucco West and TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline). Azerbaijan plans to export 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Europe within the second phase of Shah Deniz field development.
The project's current shareholders are Bulgarian Energy Holding, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas, Austrian OMV, German RWE and Hungary's FGSZ, and each of them holds 16.67-percent share.
Currently, the Shah Deniz consortium considers two options to deliver its gas to Europe - TAP and Nabucco West. The final decision on a pipeline route will be made in 2013.