The making of empires: Russia's gas-exporting pipelines v Nabucco

摘要

Russia's most recent energy initiatives, the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline across the Baltic and the South Stream pipeline across the Black Sea, have prompted a great deal of questions as to the economic viability of the two ventures and the real intentions behind them. The European Union's difficulties in bringing to life its Nabucco project, which has been in the works since 2002, shows how difficult building a pipeline several thousands of miles long can be without centralized state support. Even while the international legal regime for overland and underwater pipelines covers much ground, the complexities and spy-novel-like intrigues surrounding the implementation of Europe's rival pipeline systems cannot be adequately accounted for under the existing framework. The objective of this article is to analyse the different political and legal controversies surrounding the construction of gas pipelines in Europe.