... pipeline that seek to circumvent Russia are built on financial fantasy and betoken of a short-termism that is strategically reckless. Continued austerity for the next decade and perhaps longer will probably end any remaining hopes for both Nabucco and South Stream.
But the energy battle between the EU and Russia over Nabucco and South Stream is a proxy conflict in a wider war of rival visions – a growing strategic divergence that risks dividing the greater Europe permanently. Just as the EU ...
... model has altered with population becoming less concentrated requiring an additional infrastructure, thus expenditure. In fact, Gazprom has reduced prices by pursuing its own strategy of spreading costs by building more pipelines and supplying more gas; South Stream pipeline introduction resulted in lower prices for European consumers.
That said, Europe still does not agree, wishing to fit a North American Model where long-term contracts are near absent as purely basic economic principles of supply and demand determine price. This is not yet possible due to a lack of infrastructure across Europe, especially costly storage, as gas is seasonal requiring storage during ...