An introduction to this special section: Caspian Sea

摘要

The Caspian Sea region is a very important focus area for untapped oil and natural gas resources. During the second half of 2005, oil from the southern sections of the Caspian Sea is scheduled to be pumped through a new pipeline (built by a BP-led consortium) to the Turkish seaport of Ceyhan. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, production levels are expected to reach four million barrels per day in 2015. The Caspian region consists of the sea itself and parts of several countries that make up its shores: Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan. More broadly, the region can be seen as containing the entire Caucasus, which would include large parts of Iran and Uzbekistan. Estimates of the Caspian Sea region's proven crude oil reserves vary widely by source. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated proven oil reserves in the region to be in the range of 17-33 billion barrels, which is comparable to OPEC member Qatar on the low end and the United States on the high end. In 2003, regional oil production reached roughly 1.5-1.7 million b/d, comparable to annual production from South America's second largest oil producer, Brazil. By 2010, EIA analysts expect the countries of the Caspian Sea Region to produce between 2.4 and 5.9 million b/d, which would exceed annual production from South America's largest oil producer, Venezuela.