The partnership working the Shah Deniz gas play in the Caspian Sea announced its decision today for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Italy. The TAP will be the last leg connecting Caspian gas to Europe over Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Albania, and Greece. It beats out competing proposals, including the Nabucco that would have terminated in Austria.

The ‘pipeline politics’ over how to bring natural gas to Europe from the Caspian is complex. Today’s decision challenges Russian hopes of servicing Europe via its proposed South Stream project beneath the Black Sea to Bulgaria, and it confirms Azerbaijan’s commitment to European independence from Russian energy giant Gazprom.

A more global market in natural gas would promote the energy security of various regions, especially central European nations overly dependent on Russian sources. Russia has used energy as a political weapon. According to a recent report, “The Geopolitical Implications of U.S. Natural Gas Exports,” among the most significant implications of American Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on the world market would be to reduce Russian influence.

In President Obama’s recent climate speech of June 25^th he affirmed that gas is a part of action on climate. Caspian sources can help contribute to a more liquid global gas market and a healthier environment.

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