Energy security has come to be defined by access. Following the American and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28th, the Strait of Hormuz, which regularly accommodates over a fifth of all global oil shipments, has been closed or greatly restricted. The effect has been described by the International Energy Agency as the biggest-ever disruption to oil supply since the formation of the oil market. Strikes against energy facilities in the Gulf region have continued, with strikes against Qatar's Ras Laffan facility on March 18th leading to a reduction in the state's LNG production capacity of some 17%. In early September, crude prices touched $109 per barrel on renewed strikes against shipping traffic.

In view of these considerations, a 186km-long pipeline through the Syrian countryside should garner more recognition than it has to date. On September 29th, the Syrian state petroleum firm and Qatar’s UCC Holding launched the second section of Phase II of the Arab Gas Pipeline, a 36-inch pipeline stretching from Homs to Aleppo. It forms a chain of about 566km linking the Jordanian border to the Turkish border and is able to transport gas in both directions. At the northern end, there is a resource that was not available when planning the project: Azerbaijani Caspian gas.

Construction of the Arab Gas Pipeline began many years ago to transport gas from Egypt to the Levant countries. However, the 64 km-long Kilis-Aleppo pipeline, which forms the northern part of this gas pipeline, started operation in 2011 before........

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