The Economist published an article last week regarding the planned Nabucco pipeline which is intended to supply Europe with natural gas originating in Turkey and possibly the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq.  Europeans have been searching for ways to reduce dependence on Russian supplies of gas which currently accounts for a third of gas imports.  Over the past few years, we have seen the political brinksmanship between the Ukraine and Russia each year and the impact this has on pipelines serving the rest of Europe.

In the “videographic” shown below, The Economist expands on the article and illustrates the strategic importance of the Nabucco project and the interesting political ramifications of different pipeline routes.  Although there are no readily apparent investment implications (at least that I can see), it is interesting to observe the extent to which economics and politics intersect in a volatile region of the world.

For RSS Feed subscribers, click on this link to view the videographic.