The Mediterranean Basin represents a crucial source of natural gas for Europe. Despite ongoing tensions, there is cause for cautious optimism in the region's pipeline industry, Gordon Cope explains. Natural gas is of vital concern to Europe. The continent consumes over 550 billion m~3/y, of which Russia supplies around one-third, or 180 billion m~3/y. The reasons for the recent, unprecedented spike in prices are numerous, including an unexpected surge in demand, insufficient storage and dwindling domestic supplies, but the over-reliance on one major source dominates the debate. This is why attention will increasingly focus on the Mediterranean. The region has long been a pipeline conduit for energy products from North Africa to Europe, but the discovery of massive natural gas deposits in the eastern sector has fundamentally altered not only the energy landscape, but geopolitical and environmental concerns, as well.
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