Will the 'Southern Gas Corridor' offer an alternative to Russian gas?

With the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the cutting off of natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, and the shutdown of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline before it could be commissioned, Europe's sights turned to alternative natural gas pipelines.

Because of the increasing dependence of European countries on Russia to achieve the security of natural gas supplies, through gas pipelines extending from Russia, it has become clear that the alternative way to ensure the security of energy supplies is natural gas pipelines.

Although the natural gas that is secured by many countries is supplied as LNG, pipelines are becoming more important to the security of energy supply because the LNG infrastructure in these countries is not sufficient.

The main question to ask here is: If gas pipelines are not a complete alternative to Russia, then which natural gas-producing countries can be relied upon as an alternative to Russian gas? And what pipelines could be a solution to the security of gas supplies in Europe in the future?

Although natural gas flows from the north to European countries via Russia, there is a corridor of natural gas flowing from Azerbaijan through Türkiye in the south. The name of this passage is "Southern Gas Corridor".

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline "TANAP", the South Caucasus Pipeline, and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline "TAP" are the most important links of the "Southern Gas Corridor" on the agenda in Europe at the present time.

The purpose of the Southern Gas Corridor is to transport natural gas resources in the Caspian Sea to Türkiye, and to European markets via Türkiye. In addition to securing natural gas supplies to European countries, this corridor will ensure the diversification of energy resources and the countries producing them.

The TANAP natural gas pipeline is the most important station in the Southern Gas Corridor, which will transport natural gas to European countries via Türkiye. By providing natural gas through the TANAP pipeline, Türkiye will play an important role in ensuring the security of natural gas supplies for itself in the first place and for European countries as well.

The TANAP pipeline, which is considered the most important pillar of the Southern Gas Corridor, is scheduled to have a capacity of 16 billion cubic meters per year in the first phase, bringing its capacity in the next stages to 31 billion cubic meters per year.

Through the Trans-Adriatic Natural Gas Pipeline (TAP), which represents the European part of TANAP, natural gas will be transported from Azerbaijan to Greece via Türkiye, to the Adriatic Sea and Italy via Albania, and from Italy to other European countries.

It is expected that the capacity of the TAP line will be increased from 10 billion cubic meters to 20 billion cubic meters annually at a later time.

In the event of an aggravation of the natural gas crisis between Russia and Europe, that is, if the European countries' need for the Southern Gas Corridor increases, the transfer of gas resources in the Caspian Sea to European markets may accelerate.

For this reason, the TANAP and TAP pipelines that make up the Southern Gas Corridor are expected to bring the countries along these lines closer to each other, and also increase cooperation between these countries. By ensuring the security of energy supplies to Türkiye and Europe.

It is clearly visible how vital the Southern Gas Corridor is for all European countries, especially as it has become an alternative to Russian gas.

And do not forget that increasing the role of this corridor in the security of energy supplies will also enhance Türkiye's attempts to become an energy hub in the region.