According to Tagliapietra and Zachmann (2015), “In particular, since the launch of the SGC (Southern Gas Corridor) initiative in 2008 the Commission has stressed the potential role of Turkey as key transit country for European gas imports.
The SGC has become a key component of the EU energy security strategy because it would contribute to the reduction of the perceived EU over dependence on Russian natural gas supplies by allowing new supplies from the Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to reach Europe, and would meet the objective of creating more competition on southern and eastern European gas markets.” In line with these developments, series of agreements for the construction of different pipelines that will transport oil and gas to Europe have been signed between the Turkey and the European countries involved (Koukoudakis, 2017).The focus on Southern Gas Corridor strategy turned into a project called Nabucco pipeline that intended to carry natural gas from Azerbaijan Turkmenistan or Iraq. Natural gas from Azerbaijan would have reached the Turkish border via the South Caucasus Pipeline; from Turkmenistan it would have come via Iran or the planned Trans-Caspian Pipeline; from Iraq it would have come via the planned extension to the Arab Gas Pipeline (Tagliapietra and Zachmann, 2015). Over the years, the consensus over exporting gas via Nabucco from Azerbaijan have achieved.
However, Nabucco, despite the support of the United States as well as the EU, could not be achieved due to commercial and financial reasons. As Barysh (2007) stated, “this development has been much slower than initially expected. And, having been embroiled in a struggle with Gazprom over the price of Russian gas deliveries, Azerbaijan will now need more of its gas for domestic industries and households. It has also promised to help neighbouring Georgia, which, after a similar disagreement with Gazprom, also needs more non-Russian gas.
” Apart from Nabucco, TANAP (Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline), TAP (Trans-Adriatic Pipeline), and Turkey-Greece-Italy Interconnector (ITGI) are also the important elements of the SGC. In 2012 the Turkish government signed with its Azerbaijani partner an agreement for the construction of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). This pipeline will carry natural gas to Europe through Turkey and it is expected to be finished in 2018. With this agreement the Shah Deniz Consortium signed an agreement to construct the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will connect TANAP to Europe through Greece, Albania, and Italy. The significance of this construction was also confirmed in the High Level Energy Dialogue between the EU and Turkey. The EC has stated, “TANAP is of vital importance for the EU’s and Turkey’s security of supply and for the realization of the Southern Gas Corridor.
