Iran plan improves gas options

Possible new pipeline would broaden Greece’s power suppliers and boost its strategic role in the region

By Stelios Bouras - Kathimerini English Edition

Greece will be able to broaden its energy suppliers and boost its geostrategic role in the region if Iran goes ahead with building a natural gas pipeline that will cross Greek territory to the European Union.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Akbar Torkan said the country is considering building a 4-billion-dollar pipeline to pump its natural gas across Turkey, passing through Greece and Italy and onward to Switzerland, Austria and Germany.

The pipeline is being described as Iran’s answer to the EU-backed Nabucco link and OAO Gazprom’s South Stream project.

Experts said yesterday the execution of the project is conditional on a number of factors, including shifting political ties with Tehran, but point out that EU states have no reason not to take part in the project.

“The key benefit is that this will potentially help diversify Greece’s energy suppliers. This is an important issue for the country and for Europe,” Constantinos Filis, head of the Russia-Eurasia Center at Panteion University’s Institute of International Relations in Athens, told Kathimerini English Edition.

Greece is dependent on Russia for three-quarters of its natural gas. However, the planned completion of the Turkey-Greece-Italy (TGI) pipeline in 2013 that will transport Azeri gas is expected to help reduce the country’s energy reliance on Russia.

Greece’s standing in the region may also get a boost from the possible Iranian project, which will be the third scheduled natural gas pipeline to cross Greek territory after TGI and South Stream.

“It will provide a boost to the country’s geostrategic role,” Filis added.

Iran holds the world’s second-largest gas reserves after Russia but doesn’t export the fuel any farther west than neighboring Turkey. sbouras@ekathimerini.com