Outlets for Oil and Gas from the Central Asian Republics - Geo-Political and Geo-Economic Implications for Regional and Non Regional States
Abstract
Central Asia today offers opportunities for investment in the discovery, production, transportation, and refining of enormous quantities of oil and gas. Central Asia is home to more than 70 million people in an area 45 percent the size of the U.S. Its resources, including 10 billion barrels (bbl) of undeveloped oil reserves and 6.6 trillion cubic meter (cum) of natural gas await investment and development. In today's geo-economic environment where the economies of developed and developing states are driven by consumption of enormous amount of finite energy, this unexploited abundance of energy resources cannot remain unnoticed, especially after the demise of former Soviet Union. However, even after 10 years, development efforts have not borne dramatic fruit. This paper will: Trace a brief history of the Central Asian Republics(CARs) and the reasons why the potential of these states still remains largely underdeveloped, even after gaining independence; Analyze the factors, besides the Afghan war, impinging on development of viable routes and port facilities for the export of oil and gas out of these land locked states; Appraise the future courses of development, especially after the resolution of the Afghanistan problem; Focus on analyzing the implications of such a development on the CARs, and other countries like USA, Russia, Turkey and Pakistan; The paper will conclude with specific recommendations for Pakistan in developing a strategy to gain the maximum benefit out of this New Great Game (the struggle for exercising influence on exploitation of energy resources in Central Asia).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 07, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA414514
Entities
People
- Muhammad Z. Islam
Organizations
- United States Army War College