Turkey’s dream of becoming the energy hub of the region, benefiting from all the pipelines either up and running or on paper, in Eurasia, is one step closer to reality. Oil companies from Italy, Russia and Turkey have signed an agreement to move ahead with the South Stream gas pipeline on the seabed of the Black Sea. It will be built concurrently with an oil transport system running through Novorossiysk-Samsun-Ceyhan, across the mountains of central Anatolia.
Almost all the fossil fuels will be sourced from Kazakhstan. Russia currently controls the export of approximately 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil and with Kazakh oil production set to dramatically increase, Russia will continue to control their export market. According to the Jamestown Foundation, currently operating fields are approaching peak capacity and the world-class Kashagan offshore field will be coming on stream within the next decade.
While this is well and good for the three men pictured below, one would hope that Kazakhstan will figure a way out of being a subject in other people’s plan’s, rather than just choosing what is expedient.
