CASPIAN REGION ENERGY RESOURCES AND THEIR IMPACT ON

Аңдатпа

Energy security has emerged in recent years as one of the cornerstones of the European Union’s foreign policy. The EU is highly dependent on imports of oil and gas, 35 per cent of which comes from Russia. Diversification of energy supplies is thus a key goal for the EU. The Caspian region contains some of the largest undeveloped oil and gas reserves in the world. The intense interest shown by the major international oil and gas companies testifies to its potential, it could become a major oil supplier in the future. Development of the region’s resources still faces with obstacles. These include lack of export pipelines and the fact that most new pipeline proposals face difficulties due to security of supply considerations, transit complications, political and legal considerations and market uncertainties. There are also questions regarding ownership of resources, as well as incomplete and often contradictory investment regimes. This study focuses on the countries along the southern rim of the former Soviet Union that are endowed with significant oil and gas resources: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia, and Azerbaijan in Transcaucasia. Several neighboring states are also covered in the discussions of oil and gas transportation and markets. The Southern Energy Corridor (SEC), which aims to link Caspian Basin and potentially Middle East gas supplies to Europe, is one of the EU’s six priority axes of energy infrastructures. The article provides an analysis of the EU’s efforts in the wider Black Sea area to increase its energy security.