The paper summarizes liberalization and the EU gas market opening along with its prospects and forecasts. The European gas sector is committed to ensure that natural gas, with strong environmental advantages is able to play its full part in a competitive, secure and sustainable energy sector. A successful internal market is essential to the competitiveness of Europe and contributes to investment in infrastructure to support supply security, efficiency and service. The paper also contains an analysis of the recent changes in the structure of gas demand and the supply and its consequences for enhancement of competition in the EU gas market. It discusses role of the growing gas demand, taxation of gas production and trade along with dependency of the EU gas sector. Liberalization of the gas markets is very important tool which contributes to the development of the European economy towards its goals of efficiency and competitiveness in the ever-increasing global market place. Clearly, the implementation of the EU Gas Directive can be viewed as a final step by the EU to accomplish an internal market for gas. The major objective is to promote increasing competition in the natural gas market and to reduce gas prices for all customers and thereby to increase the competitiveness of (energy-intensive) European industries and economies. Moreover, this paper discusses prospects for increased consumption of natural gas and future trends of the European gas market within the EU up to 2030.

In this important book, notable European experts in the energy field provide valuable perspectives on the principal issues raised by the liberalisation of the electricity and natural gas markets in the EU. Lawyers, business people, regulators, and policymakers who deal with matters and issues in the energy, natural resources, and environmental fields will find the details and insights presented here of great value.

This book fills an important gap in the literature on energy security in the gas sector in the European Union. Whilst the emphasis is often on energy security in the oil sector, the gas sector has grown in importance in recent decades, with increasing liberalization raising critical questions for the security of gas supplies. The share of gas in Europe's energy mix is rising and the differences between the politics and economics of gas and oil supply are becoming more pronounced. The author sheds light on the state of EU energy security in the gas sector, its interdependence with external suppliers and the current gas strategy. He examines the role of energy companies, EU member-states and EU institutions, locates the main developments in the gas sector and focuses on the principal challenges posed by such fundamental changes. The author scrutinizes the EU's relations with its main gas supplier, Russia, as well as with alternative suppliers, elaborates on the key infrastructure projects on the table and their principal ramifications, and discusses the main policies that member-states pursue to achieve energy security as well as the EU's internal contradictions. The book concludes with policy recommendations, particularly in the light of tougher environmental regulation.

This study traces the breakdown of market management in European gas markets and the emergence of gas-to-gas competition and liberalized access to networks. A surplus of gas supply and pipeline capacity, combined with institutional change to reduce monopoly power and bring new entrants into the industry, are the most important drivers for change.

The countries of Continental Europe have started the process of reforming their natural gas markets. This book sets the context for, and considers the issues raised by, these reforms. It also analyses the key elements of effective reform, such as third party access to the gas infrastructure. Unlike earlier reformers, Europe faces important challenges of growing import dependency and reliance on a few large producer countries, against a background of strong demand growth. It is vital that both short and long term security of supply are sustained in the new market conditions. At the same time a key objective of reform is to improve economic efficiency through competition and short term trade, in order to reduce prices for natural gas consumers. The book argues that security and competition are not incompatible, and that security can be enhanced by competition provided that reform is handled with care. As Europe implements the EU Gas Directive, this book is a timely review for energy policy makers and others involved in the reform process. It is the latest in a series of IEA publications on energy market reforms.

I remember that the idea of this book emerged ?rst in Toulouse, during the Third Conference on Energy Markets – 3 years ago now. Anna Cret` ? gave a talk on a model dealing with seasonal gas storage in the USA, and Christian Von Hirschausen was her discussant. Both of them were devoting their efforts to understand the natural gas market in Europe and the relevant liberalization process. I found their interest in storage rather original, so I encouraged Anna to collect the most original cont- butions on this topic. Back in Milan with this idea in mind, she organized a working group at IEFE- Bocconi University, where she works. Then, during the following year, she - changed ideas and organized several meetings with the book’s contributors. She regularly invited the most important Italian gas sector representatives to these me- ings, to make sure that the economic models were well suited to tackle the issues at stake in the European gas industry.

La 4e de couverture indique : "Along with aviation and telecommunications, the gas supply chain has proved to be one of the paradigmatic factors in the great transformation in regulated industry law that has characterized recent decades. The liberalization in the gas market has taken two primary legal forms: (i) removal of entry barriers in competitive sectors; and (ii) regulation of infrastructure sectors through unbundling (economic separation of competitive and infrastructure sectors), and open access (requiring gas infrastructure owners/operators to allow competitors to access their facilities on commercial terms comparable to those that would apply in a competitive market). This book will focus on the latter legal form. This is the first book to analyze, in a comparative way, the detailed development of the unbundling and open access regimes across three continents. It is the author's contention that these two legal forms should be more widely implemented than they are at present. In each of five substantial chapters - on the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan - the author first focuses on the proposed or current laws and industrial practices on service, account, functional, legal and ownership unbundling and independent system operator, and then on those of different open access regimes (mainly including regulated and negotiated third party access), insofar as they have been developed in each location. Using empirical evidence from Europe, the United States, and Japan that a well-formulated and comprehensive liberalization can bring about more advantages than disadvantages, he shows how well-designed unbundling and open access regimes may accomplish the following : inject much-needed competition into gas exploration, exploitation, import, production, and retailing ; reform and re-regulate non-competitive sectors such as transportation, distribution, and storage ; balance potential conflicts between energy security and competition ; and support interests such as environmental protection, energy rights, safety, and consumer protection. The author attends throughout to the contrasting market situations in countries that rely on importing natural gas by liquefied natural gas tankers (LNG countries), and countries with their natural gas mainly coming from production fields via direct pipelines (PNG countries). Identifying the key legal issues arising from the development of the various unbundling and open access regimes discussed, the book goes on to provide a detailed general legislative framework for gas liberalization that applies especially to LNG countries. The author finds, perhaps surprisingly, that both LNG countries and PNG countries can in fact learn from each other. This book will be a key reference for anyone interested in the legal issues of gas liberalization, and will also provide the international energy community with keen insight into the unbundling and open access regimes in the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Policymakers around the world will discover an excellent framework for launching or improving a gas liberalization scheme."