Egypt and Syria need gas to meet burgeoning domestic consumption and to increase their hard currency reserves. Jordan and Lebanon need it to fuel their electricity plants. Europe also needs more gas, and from new sources. Reliance on Russia for 40 percent of Europe’s natural gas left thousands in the cold early this year when Moscow stopped the flow of gas westwards, after a spat with Ukraine over gas prices. Both regions are now hedging on two pipeline projects that center around the Eastern Mediterranean, what is being dubbed the “Southern Corridor,” to meet demand. The lynch pin of this “new Silk Road” is Turkey, the conduit for gas to flow through pipelines from Central Asia and the Middle East to Europe. The $10.6 billion Nabucco pipeline is the centerpiece, drawing gas from the Caspian region — Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan — as well as Georgia and Iraq. From the
