The fall in demand coupled with the unsettling atmosphere resulting from the interruption to the Russian supply did not create the best of environments for a secure market. Gazprom even announced in November that it might build three LNG liquefaction plants as an alternative to the Nord Stream gas pipeline that would run under the Baltic. However, problems associated with the fact that this pipeline will run through the territorial waters of some of the countries with shorelines along the Baltic are making this project difficult to manage.

It should be remembered that this gas pipeline is the largest one currently under construction on the continent, and it is scheduled to carry gas from 2010. Initial capacity is set at 27.5 bcm per year. The challenge is to bring gas from the Caspian Sea region in central Europe. The Russians want to achieve this by building a gas pipeline that will start in Dzhubga (in the Rayon region of Russia) and cross the Black Sea to Bulgaria. This is a project that has the support of the European Commission, which was actively and directly involved in negotiations in 2008 with a view to finalising supplies (mainly from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) and other related issues. The project involves six energy companies from as many different countries, and it would bring gas to the heart of Europe (Austria), passing through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, from 2013. If this is to be achieved, construction must begin in 2010. The projected cost is € 4.6 billion and the pipeline will have a total length of 3,300 km.