@Tabatha White

Thank you for the information and your question, because they allow me to extend the argument which I wanted to open with my provocative question about SOCAR.

In fact, from the information we have now, we can conclude that the Labour government would support a gas pipeline if SOCAR has an interest in it, meaning it is guaranteed that it will supply its gas through it.

The information which you provide would suggest that this is already, ahem, in the pipeline.

Now I am not sure how EU competition laws come into this, but then I suppose that if SOCAR shows an interest to build such pipeline as part of other European pipeline projects, Brussels will give the necessary green light.

Yes, Konrad’s vox pops.
.

I think the objective is to use “the strategic position” from the broad and the length of it.

“He will supply the highly efficient BWSC power station built by the nasty PN with natural gas from a ship anchored 12 miles offshore… that’s Muscat’s burst Budget surprise.”

It’s not as easy as you say. To do that, he would need a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit anchored out there. Those behemoths are not readily available – the ones being built in the few shipyards around the world which specialise in that sort of technology already have a destination for their use.

He can of course use the Euro 30 million which he will derive from selling an empty-box company to hire one by taking it off its existing use. Still unlikely because so far there are only a few in operation.

But an FSRU 12 miles away from Malta needs proper pipelines laid down under the sea. There is no way this can be done by March 2014.

In fact, if Electrogas is planning to build a new, or convert, an FSU for Malta – I cannot see where else they are going to find one because the ones that exist have a use and it is unlikely that the existing use can be suspended – then this project will only be ready somewhere in 2017, about 1 year before the elections.

But by that time, Muscat would have invested about Euro 500 in a high quality colour printer, and would be printing Maltese passports on a 24/7 basis to subsidise the losses in the electricity division of Enemalta. Passaporti bhal pastizzi.

Bazwar l’hawn bazwar l’hemm, mhux xorta?

Rabat il-futur tal-pajjiz ma’ mhatra.

You mean one of these Ciccio, look it’s by Edison, ExxonMobil and Qatari Holdings. The ones who pulled out.

http://www.edison.it/en/company/gas-infrastructures/adriatic-lng-terminal.shtml

And the winners happily give interviews proudly declaring they don’t have the technology, nor the capital, If that’s not careless tendering.

Actually they’re right, Edision’s is the only one in existence. Fancy that, the only ones who did it weren’t considered.

Anything else is a concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdVR77ozVHY

Perhaps we should have bid, I got my yellow pages and an adsl.

Just pray they’re holding the details from us.

I suspect they realised the best solution is to have an offshore regasifier/storage rig.

It’s just they won’t admit to it yet, that would make it identical to the PN’s. Otherwise, it’s physically impossible to carry liquid gas 12 miles into Marsaxlokk.

The paradox of insulating the darned thing to regasify it on shore when you could use the length to bring it up to gas.

As for the pipeline rendering it redundant, that’s why it’s leased, even though I honestly cannot understand how that’s going to help costs. Now that the pipeline’s approved the only thing they should be doing is concentrating on it.

It was after all implied in this whole mess, they went after this venture because the PN, read EU, takes forever.

And if the idea is to offload costs after five years, these guys are dangerous.

How does this fit in Ciccio?

“Turkey signed a gas deal with Azerbaijan in October 2011, not only providing gas for its domestic market, but also sending gas to Europe through its pipelines, reducing Europe’s dependence on South Stream.”

http://ccee.ada.edu.az/selected_news/october_22_2013_-_socar_head_azerbaijani_president_sets_priorities_in_energy_sector_for_next_five_years.htm

Through “South of Italy”?

Thanks all for your comments, but we need a video of him saying it. This is a major issue. Having Gasol’s COO declaring that the project will not be finalised before September 2015 simply means one thing – more uncertainty. The country simply cannot move on knowing that the Prime Minister will be resigning in 16 months time.

Did I miss something?