Today marks the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude-oil pipeline linking the energy-rich Caspian Sea basin to the Mediterranean. This historic event is being celebrated in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, with the presidents of Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in attendance. The presence of U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman (who will be carrying a personal message from President Bush) at the event signals the enormous geopolitical significance to the United States of this 1,087-mile pipeline. The Caspian Sea basin contains approximately 80 billion barrels of oil, nearly 8 percent of the world's remaining reserves. To put this into perspective, the United States has only 29 billion barrels of remaining oil reserves. Since the discovery of sizable hydrocarbon reserves in the land...
Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, and Turkmenistan have the potential to benefit most from the reserves of oil and gas in the Caspian Sea basin. Russia has expressed intense interest in dominating these vast resources, although the three sovereign states most often seek joint ventures with American and European corporations. Pipeline routes have caused considerable political debate. The European demand for petroleum products should make this area's production second only to that of the Persian Gulf.
Caspian countries need to develop energy transport systems that are economically efficient and beyond the limitations of the Soviet systems. In order to do this, the Russian free market economy must be secured. A pipeline system would need to involve western routes through Georgia to the Black Sea or through Turkey to the Mediterranean. Another possibility would include opening channels to China.
SANGACHAL, Azerbaijan - Officials today inaugurated the first section of an 1,100-mile U.S.-backed pipeline bringing Caspian Sea oil to Western markets. The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey were on hand for the ceremony at the Sangachal oil terminal, about 25 miles south of Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, to open the taps for the first drops of oil to enter the pipeline.
TEHRAN, Iran Russian leader Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Tuesday and implicitly warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran. He also said countries bordering the Caspian Sea must jointly back any oil pipeline projects. At a summit of the five nations that border the inland Caspian Sea, Putin said none of the nations' territory should be used by any outside countries for use of military force against any nation in the region. It was a clear reference to long-standing rumors that the U.S. was planning to use Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic, as a staging ground for any possible military action against Iran.
The Caspian Basin's enormous, untapped oil resources have opened new opportunities for multinational investment and the joint cooperation of Russia and the US in the area. Other major players in the region are China and Iran. This multilateral interest is due to its oil reserves estimated at 15 billion to 30 billion barrels while unproven reserves are about 200 billion. Thus, it is imperative that the regional security of the Caspian should be enhanced to ensure the continuous flow of oil and the much-needed foreign capital in the area.
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