March 2011

The Road to Hungarian Energy Security

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 00:00 Kornel Andzsans-Balogh

Kornel Andzsans-Balogh contributes the fourth, and final installment, of our coverage of threats and challenges to Visegrad state energy security with a detailed look at Hungary. While the country has significantly increased its national security through transit diversification, through transmission interconnectors for electricity supply, and through greater gas storage, it remains vulnerable to excess country-of-origin dependence on natural gas from the Russian Federation. Having said this, Hungary's accomplishments are worth noting and instructive to other nations facing the same or a similar problem, not only in Europe but around the world.

Poland's Energy Security Strategy

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 00:00 Honorata Nyga - Łukaszewska

Of all the countries across Central and Eastern Europe, Poland has been among the most vocal about its energy-related security vulnerabilities. Sticking to coal, which continues to generate the majority of the country's electricity, Poland is under increasing pressure to diversify its fuel mix for security and environmental reasons. LNG, nuclear and renewables are all on the table for altering its energy and power supply. And with the Polish Presidency of the EU Council scheduled to commence this summer, energy will be high on the agenda. Contributor Honorata Nyga - Łukaszewska profiles Poland's National Energy Security Strategy and in doing so provides us a baseline understanding of where the country stands presently on energy and how it plans on bolstering its energy security future.

Azerbaijan's New Energy Act

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 00:00 Gulmira Rzayeva

Azerbaijan has rocketed into prominence as the most important supplier of Caspian oil and gas to Western nations. Yet it plays a decisive balancing act between the major Caucasus/Caspian players, e.g. Russia and Iran, and the United States and Europe in charting an economically sustainable and independent future. The frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh is a huge domestic and regionally explosive issue that the country would like settled but that tangibly has seen very little progress to date. How Azerbaijan and Europe deepen their engagement in the energy trade bodes well for both parties, but energy alone is not enough from an Azerbaijani perspective.

DoD’s Addiction to Oil: Is there a Cure?

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 00:00 Dr. Fred C. Beach

It has not been an easy task to wean neither the American vehicle fleet nor the US Department of Defense off of petroleum. However, a smarter use of jet fuel may actually contribute to a better balance of high and low-end forces, leaving the military with greater flexibility in system use and deployment, argues Fred C. Beach at the University of Texas at Austin. The US Federal Government consumes some 2% of all US petroleum, and the DoD is by far the most dominant consumer of these products. Can the DoD reduce the amount of petroleum it consumes without compromising US military operations and effectiveness? Dr. Beach thinks so.

Politicking Over Central Asia’s Pipelines

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 00:00 Hooman Peimani

Many in the international community, not the least of which the UN Security Council, have been actively lobbying for years to reign in Iran's nuclear program due to the danger it presents to both regional and international security. The spillover effects of these efforts are impacting on the development potential of Central Asian/Middle Eastern pipeline projects. The US has championed the TAPI (Turkmen-Afghan-Pakistan-India) pipeline while Iran seeks to see an Iran-Pakistan (IP) pipeline built which would provide it increased access to global capital. However, both projects are beleaguered with numerous barriers, and the stakes are high for China, which has invested heavily in Iranian upstream oil and gas development. Hooman Peimani picks apart the politicking behind both of these projects and in doing so deciphers what is at stake for all parties involved.

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