WhiteFeather
02-11-2011, 10:00 AM
Brussels symposium highlights significance of Kurdistan oil for West
Friday, February 11th 2011 12:50 PM
Brussels, Feb. 10 (AKnews) - Potential energy routes and energy security were discussed in a meeting in Brussels Thursday, where the participants highlighted the Turkish attempts to monopolize the Energy supply for the EU as well as the significance of the Kurdish energy potentials for the West.
The event organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Transatlantic Institute gathered more than 50 diplomats, politicians and international experts.
The speakers Louis Bono (Counselor for Energy in the United States Mission to the EU), Holger Krahmer (Member of the European Parliament from Alliance of Liberals and Democrats) and Jason Isaacson (Global Jewish Advocacy) presented the different solutions for Europe’s energy needs. The speakers stressed the importance of diversification of energy sources and alternative lines of transmission in order to reduce the energy dependence of Europe and the West.
Bono from the United States Mission to the EU emphasized the important potential of the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas resources for the West and pointed out that only a sustainable solution of the Kurdish and other ethnic and neighborhood problems in the region can guarantee the security of the energy corridors.
The oil-rich Kurdistan Region is located in northern Iraq and enjoys semi-autonomous governance.
Earlier this year, January 2011, former Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel said Europe should also diversify sources of energy supply by “looking, for instance, in the Federal Kurdish Region (Iraq).”
“Europe needs additional pipelines and alternative energy distribution flows. The Kurdish part of Iraq may become alternative partner of Europe.”
The participants in the Brussels’s Thursday meeting also alluded to the constant attempts of countries like Turkey to monopolize the energy supply for EU. They deemed while Turkey is still challenging internal issues especially the war a Kurdish faction of its population, this can be a serious threat to the security of the energy transmission lines.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has staged war against Turkey since 1984 allegedly to campaign for the recognition of the ethnic rights of 20 million Kurds in Turkey, overlooked in the Turkish constitution.
Currently, Kurdistan has a capacity of 100,000 bpd and is expected to develop its fields to increase the output to 200,000, according to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Natural Resource, Ashti Hawrami.
The revenues of the Kurdistan oil import are transferred to the Iraqi government’s accounts.
RWE, a key shareholder in the Nabucco project which is aimed to bring up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe through the Turkish lands- announced it had signed a cooperation deal with the KRG to develop and design its "domestic and export gas transportation infrastructure... creating a route to market for Kurdistan's major gas reserves."
Reported by Roni Alasor
Lh/AKnews
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/217417/
Friday, February 11th 2011 12:50 PM
Brussels, Feb. 10 (AKnews) - Potential energy routes and energy security were discussed in a meeting in Brussels Thursday, where the participants highlighted the Turkish attempts to monopolize the Energy supply for the EU as well as the significance of the Kurdish energy potentials for the West.
The event organized by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Transatlantic Institute gathered more than 50 diplomats, politicians and international experts.
The speakers Louis Bono (Counselor for Energy in the United States Mission to the EU), Holger Krahmer (Member of the European Parliament from Alliance of Liberals and Democrats) and Jason Isaacson (Global Jewish Advocacy) presented the different solutions for Europe’s energy needs. The speakers stressed the importance of diversification of energy sources and alternative lines of transmission in order to reduce the energy dependence of Europe and the West.
Bono from the United States Mission to the EU emphasized the important potential of the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas resources for the West and pointed out that only a sustainable solution of the Kurdish and other ethnic and neighborhood problems in the region can guarantee the security of the energy corridors.
The oil-rich Kurdistan Region is located in northern Iraq and enjoys semi-autonomous governance.
Earlier this year, January 2011, former Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel said Europe should also diversify sources of energy supply by “looking, for instance, in the Federal Kurdish Region (Iraq).”
“Europe needs additional pipelines and alternative energy distribution flows. The Kurdish part of Iraq may become alternative partner of Europe.”
The participants in the Brussels’s Thursday meeting also alluded to the constant attempts of countries like Turkey to monopolize the energy supply for EU. They deemed while Turkey is still challenging internal issues especially the war a Kurdish faction of its population, this can be a serious threat to the security of the energy transmission lines.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has staged war against Turkey since 1984 allegedly to campaign for the recognition of the ethnic rights of 20 million Kurds in Turkey, overlooked in the Turkish constitution.
Currently, Kurdistan has a capacity of 100,000 bpd and is expected to develop its fields to increase the output to 200,000, according to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Natural Resource, Ashti Hawrami.
The revenues of the Kurdistan oil import are transferred to the Iraqi government’s accounts.
RWE, a key shareholder in the Nabucco project which is aimed to bring up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe through the Turkish lands- announced it had signed a cooperation deal with the KRG to develop and design its "domestic and export gas transportation infrastructure... creating a route to market for Kurdistan's major gas reserves."
Reported by Roni Alasor
Lh/AKnews
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/217417/