The fall of communism and the disintegration of the former USSR into a number of independent states not only had very dramatic political implications, but also far reaching economic consequences, particularly in the world energy sector. The ensuing fall in the region's oil production, mainly as a result of lack of finance to carry out extensive maintenance, on the one hand, and the initial run of major oil companies into the region looking for windfall profits — only to be met with a total lack of the required financial and legal systems — on the other, added to the confusion.
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