“It would be like building a pipeline through Afghanistan: it would be bombed and attacked all the time,” said Susanne Nies of France’s IFRI think-tank. “You’d have to militarize the entire pipeline, and a pipeline is 20 to 30 years of engagement,” she said, adding that for now the best transit method for Nigerian gas was LNG tankers.
Analysts are equally dismissive of promises of gas from Egypt or Iraq via a planned Arab gas pipeline, leaving Algeria as one of the best near-term prospects fro European energy supplies. Iran is seen as a long-term bet, despite concerns over its nuclear programme.