Resolving The Bosphorus Conundrum: Caspian Oil Geopolitics After The Initializing Of The Burgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline

摘要

Despite all of the geostrategic realignments in the last 13 years during which the Burgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline (BAPLine) has been on the table, the only reason why every interested party suddenly acknowledged that the clock was ticking in late 2005, is purely economic. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates, by the end of 2005, the total volume of oil transiting the Straits would surpass the abovementioned choke-point limit by around 500,000 bbl/d, namely more than 2/3 of BAPLine's initial throughput capacity estimated at 700,000 bbl/d.