,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #bhd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,june #bg1 #bjac    
,mr4 ,turner 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,david  
,scott of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,shuster1 ,mr4 
,cohen1 ,mr4 ,bridenstine1 ,mr4 ,lance1 
,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart1 ,ms4   
,jackson ,lee1 ,ms4 ,granger1 ,mr4      
,miller of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,wilson of    
,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4    
,marino1 ,mr4 ,poe of ,texas1 ,mr4      
,guthrie1 ,mr4 ,stivers1 ,mrs4 ,beatty1 
,ms4 ,loretta ,sanchez of ,california1  
,mr4 ,meeks1 ,ms4 ,bordallo1 and ,ms4   
,meng7 submitted the following          
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs         
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives with     
respect to promoting energy security of 
,european allies through opening up the 
,southern ,gas ,corridor4  ,whereas     
reducing vulnerabilities of ,european   
allies to gas supply disruption and to  
this end development of multiple sources

 of gas is a key component of efforts to
 ensure ,european energy security2      
,whereas diversification of sources of  
gas and the routes of their delivery    
will increase competitiveness in the    
,european market and will help stabilize
 ,european and global energy prices2    
,whereas the ,caspian ,sea region       
strategically located at the crossroads 
of ,europe1 ,asia1 and the ,middle ,east
 holds significant energy resources and 
proven natural gas reserves of          
,azerbaijan1 ,kazakhstan1 ,turkmenistan1
 and ,uzbekistan are estimated at #gce  
trillion cubic feet or about #aa percent
 of the world's reserves2 ,whereas oil  
and gas exports from the ,caspian ,sea  
region are projected to more than double
 over the next #be years2 ,whereas it is
 the policy of the ,united ,states in   
the countries of the ,south ,caucasus   
and ,central ,asia to assist in the     
development of infrastructure necessary 
for energy and trade on an ,east-,west  
axis in order to build strong           

international relations and commerce    
between those countries2 ,whereas       
,azerbaijan1 ,turkey and ,georgia have  
worked collaboratively with the ,united 
,states1 ,european allies1 and other    
regional partners to jointly develop and
 promote energy projects in the ,caspian
 ,sea region for almost two decades2    
,whereas energy exploration in this     
region is a remarkable example of       
international cooperation with over #cd 
companies representing #ae countries1   
including the ,united ,states engaged in
 these projects2 ,whereas successive    
,united ,states ,administrations        
supported development of energy         
resources in the ,caspian ,sea region1  
including construction of the landmark  
,baku-,tbilisi-,ceyhan oil pipeline and 
,baku-,tbilisi-,erzerum gas pipeline    
that are main arteries delivering       
,caspian energy resources to global     
markets2 ,whereas further energy        
exploration in the ,caspian ,sea region 
and its westward exports will reduce the

 dependence of ,united ,states allies on
 energy from the volatile ,middle ,east 
region2 ,whereas the priority now       
becomes the realization of the ,southern
 ,gas ,corridor to deliver additional   
volumes of natural gas from the ,caspian
 ,sea region to ,european markets2      
,whereas the ,republic of               
,azerbaijan-,european ,union ,joint     
,declaration of ,january #ac1 #bjaa1    
established the ,republic of ,azerbaijan
 as a substantial contributor to1 and   
enabler of1 the ,southern ,gas          
,corridor2 ,whereas at the third meeting
 of their bilateral ,economic           
,partnership ,commission convened in    
,washington1 ,,dc1 on ,april #ah1 #bjab1
 the ,united ,states and the ,republic  
of ,azerbaijan reaffirmed the importance
 of a high-level dialogue on energy     
security in the ,caspian region to      
discuss issues of mutual interest in the
 energy sector1 including establishment 
of the ,southern ,gas ,corridor2        
,whereas the ,european ,union-,united   

,states ,energy ,council at its fourth  
meeting in ,brussels on ,december #e1   
#bjab1 noted progress on the realization
 of the ,southern ,gas ,corridor and    
reaffirmed that it remains a pivotal    
opportunity to diversify supply and     
allow new providers to participate in   
the ,european ,union energy market2     
,whereas the off-shore ,shah ,deniz     
field in ,azerbaijan is one of the      
world's largest gas-condensate fields1  
with over #cj trillion cubic feet of    
recoverable gas and #bdj million tons of
 condensate deposits2 ,whereas          
development of the second phase of the  
,shah ,deniz project1 which is a        
stepping stone in opening the ,southern 
,gas ,corridor will deliver the first   
sizeable quantities of alternative gas  
to ,european markets from the ,caspian  
,sea region2 ,whereas the               
,trans-,anatolian ,natural ,gas         
,pipeline 7,,tanap7 project launched by 
,azerbaijan and ,turkey will be a key   
part of the ,southern ,gas ,corridor    

linking the gas resources of the        
,caspian ,sea to the ,european markets2 
,whereas the two possible ,southern ,gas
 ,corridor routes1 ,nabucco ,west1 which
 would run from ,turkey through         
,bulgaria1 ,romania1 and ,hungary to    
,austria1 and the ,trans ,adriatic      
,pipeline1 which would run from ,turkey 
through ,greece and ,albania to ,italy1 
will improve regional energy stability1 
as well as advance overall regional     
development and prosperity2 ,whereas the
 ,southern ,gas ,corridor complements   
other efforts by the ,european ,union to
 diversify its sources of gas supply2   
,whereas realization of the ,shah ,deniz
 and these projects will help open up   
upstream development in the regions     
beyond ,europe's southeastern frontiers2
 ,whereas these energy projects have    
stimulated social and economic progress 
in the region1 promoting friendly       
relations and economic cooperation among
 regional countries2 ,whereas the       
development of natural gas resources and

 building of new routes to ,european    
markets for energy producers in the     
,south ,caucasus and in ,central ,asia  
will further provide economic           
development and consolidate political   
independence of these countries2 and    
,whereas apart from establishing direct 
energy and transport links between      
,europe and the countries of the        
,caspian region1 these projects ensure  
,western orientation of these nations1  
help promote market-oriented principles 
and practices1 and further contribute to
 their integration with the ,european   
and ,euro-,atlantic institutions3 ,now1 
therefore1 be it  ,that--  7#a7 the     
,house of ,representatives--  7,a7 notes
 that further energy exploration in the 
,caspian ,sea region will enhance energy
 security of ,european allies2  7,b7    
affirms that it is in the national      
interest of the ,united ,states to      
support and enhance ,europe's energy    
security by opening up the ,southern    
,gas ,corridor2 and  7,c7 encourages the

 ,administration to continue to actively
 engage with the ,governments of        
,azerbaijan1 ,turkey1 ,georgia1 and     
other regional partners to provide      
support for new and ongoing projects2   
and  7#b7 it is the sense of the ,house 
of ,representatives that it is in the   
national interest of the ,united ,states
 to support and enhance ,europe's energy
 security by working with the           
,governments of ,turkey1 ,azerbaijan1   
and ,georgia and its partners to make   
available additional gas and oil        
supplies to that market in a cost       
effective and secure manner4