Introduction

The territorial state has come to stay within its sovereign space inside the well-defined borders visible on the map. The lines, carrying oil and gas from the well-head to the market, generally run through two or more states; and often from one continent to the other. Long-term investments and huge infrastructures are prerequisites to an agreement to construct a pipeline. As the production sites move to less accessible and land-locked areas, pipelines become the only feasible transport to move them to the market. The scarce, precious and depleting resources are particularly prone to becoming the sites of contestation and conflicts. The energy pipelines, the visible signs of energy on the move, are the perfect targets for focused resistance at the grassroots level. The literature on the energy pipelines has not kept pace with the literature on energy resources in general. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.