An effort to remove Georgia’s North-South gas pipeline from a list of strategic state-owned properties is stirring controversy. Officials in Tbilisi maintain that full privatization of the pipeline is not an option, but some economic analysts contend that even the projected sale of a minority stake in the route could threaten Georgia’s energy security.
It is being touted as a project that could beat the long-delayed Nabucco pipeline to the finish line. Even so, the recently unveiled Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Black Sea liquefied natural gas export route appears to be long on promises and short on financing.
