With Russia locking up all of the natural gas supplies that could possibly feed the EU’s Nabucco pipeline project, the logical alternative from a supply perspective is Iran’s immense reserves. Of course, that presents some political hurdles at the moment. But in the event no grand bargain is reached with Tehran, the Turkish Daily News gives us an idea of the form a workaround would probably take:
Meanwhile Iran and Turkey have worked out the details, including the pricing, of a deal to produce natural gas in the Islamic Republic and export it to Turkey, senior Turkish and Iranian officials told Reuters yesterday. Part of the gas deal agreement may be signed during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s upcoming trip to Turkey, said Ahmed Noorani, head of economic affairs at the Iranian embassy. Turkey plans to sell to Europe the gas it helps produce in Iran.
It’s a legal fiction, of course, but perhaps a more palatable one than the Russian reality.
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