Security of Natural Gas Supply through Transit Countries (NATO Science Series II: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry)

The security of energy supplies is important to modern societies if they are to avoid shortages and maintain stable prices. In terms of natural gas supplies, this confers strategic importance on having more than one supplier and more than one transport route. This strategic requirement has implications for political issues, international law, economics, and science and technology. This volume discusses the transport and handling of natural gas from remote regions and pipelines routed through third-party - transit - countries. Strategic reserves and the broad issue of energy management are also considered. Since pipelines are vulnerable to sabotage and terrorists activity, the social and political stability of the countries through which the pipelines pass are obviously key issues. It is thus mandatory that the transit countries can use their compensation payments to improve their social stability. The book paints the issues with a broad brush and represents a key information resource on science, technology, strategic and geopolitical issues, and key opportunities related to reservoir geology and cryogenic research. Jens HETLAND & Teimuraz GOCHITASHVILI In contrast to oil, natural gas is usually routed through pipeline systems stretched from the wellhead to the end-user - although liquefied natural gas (LNG) is gaining increased interest; the commercialisation of natural gas fields is inherently linked to rigid transportation systems that require huge investments in tangible assets fixed to specific locations; the supply of natural gas is constrained by the transportation system, and requires access to appropriate infrastructure for transport and distribution; the trading of natural gas is traditionally associated with long-term contracts, albeit the duration per se of gas transport contracts appears to be less important after the deregulation of the energy markets. As diversification is strategically important to modern societies, the security of energy supplies becomes an inherent issue. In order to avoid situations of shortage, and to keep the price level stable, industrial nations are paying attention to the security of energy supplies. In brief terms this means that having more than one supplier of natural gas and more than one transport route would be strategically important. This also affects political issues and international law and regulations, economics, science and technology. The purpose of this book is to address opportunities extended from science and research pertaining to the exploitation and international trading of natural gas that involves transit countries. This especially relates to the transport and handling of gas from remote regions and pipelines that are Preliminaries......Page 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6 PREFACE......Page 10 INTRODUCTION......Page 12 I: CURRENT STATUS OF PRODUCER COUNTRIES AND CONDITIONS FOR THE TRANSIT OF NATURAL GAS......Page 16 II: MODERN TECHNOLOGIES......Page 88 III: STRATEGIC RESERVES AND PART III: STRATEGIC RESERVES AND......Page 172 IV: ECONOMICS AND LEGISLATIVE ASPECTS OF GAS TRANSPORT AND GEOPOLITICS......Page 286 V: OTHER ASPECTS OF PIPELINE PART V: OTHER ASPECTS OF PIPELINE......Page 384 VI: RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONS......Page 420 LIST OFARWPARTICIPANTS......Page 426 UNITS AND ABBREVIATIONS......Page 430 INDEX......Page 432