The founding director and chairman of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, Richard L. Morningstar, stated that the energy cooperation between Turkey and the West is continuing without letup."The construction process of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is advancing without interruption," Morningstar said.Functioning as a bridge in energy, Turkey has been accomplishing a considerable number of new projects in many areas.Speaking to the Sabah newspaper, Morningstar emphasized that the energy cooperation between Turkey and the western countries "will be sustained.""Regardless of the difficulties experienced in the bilateral ties between Turkey and the U.S., energy cooperation has been an essential element in the relations between the two countries," the chairman noted.Turkey and the U.S. have successfully categorized the matter of energy as a unique matter to assess," he stated and stressed his belief that the cooperation in energy issues will and must continue."Because collaboration in energy has the capacity to remedy the strained relations between any parties," he said.The chairman of the Global Energy Center, which is to hold an energy summit in Istanbul on April 27-28, also pointed out that the natural gas in the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq can compete with the natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and can be directly linked to the Southern Gas Corridor."But this prediction is not plausible for the near future," he further added.Meanwhile, Morningstar also emphasized that the Turkey-Israeli energy talks has strengthened Turkey's existence in the Eastern Mediterranean.Trump's regulations inconclusive

The chairman also expressed his belief that the ease in regulations, which will be completed during the Donald Trump administration, will yield no major impact on oil and gas production in the U.S."During the pre-Trump period, oil and gas production in the U.S. soared to a great extent. The production in the U.S. will be determined by the market circumstances instead of the eased regulations. The market conditions will also steer the continuing investments and development in new and low-carbon technologies."Energy cooperation main item of 2017 agenda

The Atlantic Council Istanbul Summit, which Sabah, aNews and Daily Sabah will be media sponsors, will discuss three main topics, each of which will elaborate on important issues. The first topic is "Sustaining Peace, Stability and Prosperity," which will handle the re-design of strategic cooperation between Turkey and the West and empowering regional energy partnerships.The other topics include natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southern Gas Corridor. Lastly, the summit will discuss the economic policies of the Trump administration and their impacts on the region under "Financing Growth through Economic Integration."What is the Southern Gas Corridor?The Southern Gas Corridor is a term used to describe planned infrastructure projects aimed at improving the security and diversity of the EU's energy supply by bringing natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe. Stretching over 3,500 kilometers, crossing seven countries and involving more than a dozen major energy companies, it is comprised of several separate energy projects representing a total investment of approximately $45 billion.As of 2017, the corridor will pass through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy. It consists of three main pipeline projects, the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX) in Azerbaijan, Georgia; the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) in Turkey and the TransAdriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Greece, Albania and Italy.