Caspian Central Asia

by moonwolf | July 30, 2008 at 03:43 pm | 57 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

Energy geopolitics in the Middle East is shifting, and the USA has just been dealt a major defeat by Russia as America moved confidently to acquire the rights to natural gas resources in Turkmenistan in the energy vital Caspian Basin. The importance of this loss cannot be overstated in terms of US energy security.

From the details coming out of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Moscow over the weekend, it is apparent that the great game over Caspian energy has taken a dramatic turn. In the geopolitics of energy security, nothing like this has happened before. The United States has suffered a huge defeat in the race for Caspian gas. The question now is how much longer Washington could afford to keep Iran out of the energy market.

Gazprom, Russia's energy leviathan, signed two major agreements in Ashgabat on Friday outlining a new scheme for purchase of Turkmen gas. The first one elaborates the price formation principles that will be guiding the Russian gas purchase from Turkmenistan during the next 20-year period. The second agreement is a unique one, making Gazprom the donor for local Turkmen energy projects. In essence, the two agreements ensure that Russia will keep control over Turkmen gas exports.

Uploaded by moonwolf | July 30, 2008 at 03:43 pm | 57 views | add comment