⁍ The $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor will draw from Azerbaijan’s giant Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea.

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⁍ It has the backing of the European Commission as it seeks to curb Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.

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⁍ At the same time, Russian ambitions to expand its pipeline capacity to Europe risk being thwarted by U.S. sanctions.

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– A new gas pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey is expected to put a serious dent in Russia’s gas exports to Europe. The $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor is designed to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian energy and is supported by the European Commission as it seeks to curb Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, Reuters reports. The conflict in Azerbaijan between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has recently spread to Azeri cities close to the corridor. The fighting has spread to Azeri cities close to the corridor, but BP, part of a consortium of companies involved in the project, told Reuters it was going ahead as planned. “As of now, all our business operations in the region continue as normal and our plans remain unchanged,” a BP spokeswoman said. Analysts say Moscow has good relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan and a pragmatic relationship with Turkey that has overcome past crises and differing stances on Syria. Competition for gas sales is particularly unwelcome as Russia’s economy suffers because of the impact on oil and gas demand of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken repeatedly to the Armenian prime minister, but not to the leaders of Azerbaijan or Turkey. Russia’s central bank said gas exports by value fell to $11.44 billion in the first half of this year from $18.65 billion in the corresponding period of 2019. The country’s pipeline gas monopoly Gazprom plans to ship at least 170 billion of gas to Europe this year, down from 199 billion in 2019.