Terror attacks on key installations like terminals and compressors pose the biggest threat to Europe's future gas supplies, according to a study published on Friday.
Europe is unlikely to have problems importing enough gas to meet surging demand for gas over the next 20 years. But attacks on infrastructure could seriously threaten supplies of a fuel that is expected to feed more than half the region's new power stations, said London-based Global Insight.
"The major supply risk is no longer geo-political since government relationships between producers (notably Russia) and Europe are now very comfortable," wrote former British Gas manager Graham Freedman and Graham Weale in the report.
"The greatest threat comes from terrorist attacks on critical elements (terminals and compressors) in the supply chain, whether outside Europe or within," they wrote.
Industry sources say energy companies have stepped up security at gas terminals bringing North Sea gas ashore in the UK in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Green lobby group Friends of the Earth has been pushing the government to review planning permission granted to two major terminals to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) in South Wales, saying the plants would be vulnerable to terror attacks and could endanger thousands of local people.
Global Insight urged the use of many different supply routes to minimise supply disruptions from attacks on individual installations.
"Logistical diversification is crucial to avoid an excessive volume flowing along any single route," the study said.