The value of the Caspian region as one of the largest source of hydrocarbons is constantly increasing. Because the region contains about 3% of the world's oil reserves and about 5% of global gas reserves. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caspian states have begun to pursue an independent energy policy, and the Caspian region has become the object of attention of transnational companies with the active support of the involved countries. Recently the international forum “Caspian Dialogue” was held in Moscow. It is an annual event supported by the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the TPP and the RAS. They hope to use the consolidating factor of the Caspian Sea for gathering efforts on extension of cooperation in the region.
“Recent efforts to integrate the post-Soviet space through the creation of different interstate associations and international organizations, unfortunately, cannot be described successful,” Talat Aliyev, representative of the Department of Energy, said. “The Caspian region, rich in hydrocarbon resources, attracts the attention of the largest consumers of energy. Here collide, first of all, the interests of the European Union and China, which tend to hold their political lines. Their goal is to maximally increase competition between energy producers on their markets so that supply could exceed demand in order to decrease oil prices. For this purpose they support various alternative oil and gas pipeline projects, many of which, as we see, they are not even able to fill, because they are not provided with a resource base. Russian oil and gas companies also operate in the region – there are LUKoil, Rosneft, Gazprom and our other oil and gas companies. The most promising direction in the development of the energy sector in the region is the development of the Caspian Sea, where to date there are a lot of discovered fields, and some of them have already been industrially developed. Exploration and development of oil and gas resources in the Caspian Sea and neighboring areas, as well as the production of hydrocarbons, are actively carried out by the Caspian states themselves - Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran. One of the problems hindering the effective development of deposits on the Caspian Sea shelf is still the controversial legal status of the Caspian Sea. Unsettled issues related to the division of the Caspian shelf oil and gas resources create problems and, without resolving them, effective implementation of new projects in this region is not feasible. Russia is actively cooperating with all countries of the region in the sphere of energy. In recent years several international treaties that created a legal basis for this cooperation were signed. In general, the interaction of Russia with the Caspian states in the energy sector remains a priority for Russia's foreign energy policy. We will support the work of our Russian oil and gas companies in the region. We believe that, inorder to get the most benefit from their natural resources, the countries of the region are in need not of competition, but of mutually-beneficial cooperation. All the countries in the Caspian region consider their fuel and energy sectors to be a certain driving force of their economies, able to provide them with a way out of the crisis for future sustainable development of their countries. Therefore, we need common solutions on the optimally integrated oil and gas infrastructure, including marine terminals, appropriate tanker fleets and so on. It is able to provide the most successful development of energy industri s in Russia and other countries in the region.”
However, Viktor Kalyuzhny, the former envoy of Russian on the Caspian, believes that “since 2004, people do nothing on the Caspian Sea except for solving particular problems with respect to the part which belongs to Russian and Kazakhstan at the same time, and in regard to which there are appropriate documents allowing for work in this area. Azerbaijan participates in this agreement, but its interests lie in problematic division. These are not just simple allegations concerning these 9 years. From 2000 to 2004 we were able to agree on 60% of the draft document on the legal status and, as far as I know today, a tripartite agreement was signed between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia with respect to the northern part, because there were problems with the southern part at that stage, and we decided to address this problem step by step.”
According to Inessa Varshavskaya, representative of "Rosgeologia", “the problem of the Caspian Sea is a problem for Russia and countries which have a legal right to the Caspian Sea. This issue is very important for our common future. That is why talking about the development of long-term projects today, about exploration in the Caspian region, we must understand that this is one of the issues about which we are now thinking in order to change the situation on the market as a whole and on the oil market. The Caspian region, and it is not only the Caspian Sea, but all the surrounding land, is part of the main oil- and gas-bearing zone of the Earth. Talking about the future of Russia, and it is one of the directious of Russia's development in terms of oil and raw materials, it should be understood that since it is in the jurisdiction of five countries which you know, the border between the countries does not coincide with its geological borders. So for us, the solution of the future problem, not the future, but the current problem if we talk about long-term projects, lies in negotiations on joint projects. This is the only way to effectively develop the natural resources in the region, including oil as well all other minerals and natural resources. What could be an unconditional basis for the stable functioning of this region as a whole? Today the main voiced objective is to understand what are we moving towards and whether we have oil today. We should talk about this and ask ourselves a question: is there today oil which is free from hydrogen sulphide? Today we do not have an answer to this question. Only an area down to 6 km is studied well today, it is all that we know today. Today we are talking about the future - it is deeper than 6 km, and it is an area which is poorly researched. There are pilot projects that we offer to implement in cooperation between all the five states. The basis for these projects has already been created. These pilot projects were already discussed at the meeting of the intergovernmental commission. I will tell you about these projects. Today, we even have established basic teams from the Kazakh and Russian side. A group of experts has been chosen in Russia.
Issues related to the type of oil, possibilities of oil at such depths, types of sources and the quality of oil must be researched by the Institute of Oil and Gas, they should answer these questions. Today there are state institutions such as Rosgeologia and Kazgeologia, which must combine these efforts and direct these activities in the direction required for a common understanding of the future strategies of both countries and the Caspian region as a whole. You can see the first two pilot projects - the practical and methodical project of the Regional Geotravis and the Studies of Deeper Horizons. Today begins the first phase of a study in a location which as you can see, begins in Kazakhstan. But in fact it is a much broader project. Concerning the first draft, it is not only a scientific project, which should help to solve scientific problems, it is also a methodical project, since we are talking about objects that are located at a depth of 6 km – these are carbonates which are very difficult to identify. We are looking for a method to better identify the objects which we are looking for. We are solving not only scientific but also methodical problems, we are also thinking about possible future sites that we can identify, and perhaps give a second life to a project which we have heard a lot about, which was developed by Rosneft and KazMunaiGaz. I am talking about the Kurmangazy. On purpose we are showing a profile that stretches from the North-East to the South-West up to the sea and we are definitely looking for... On the right you can see in the North-East the giant field. Unfortunately ... it is Kashagan. We are saying that before giving Kurmangazy a last chance, we should understand the structure, where the future profile intercepts and which we are going to make watershed waves. Certainly geological risks and associated costs are very high. This is how our mutual interest and joint research is conducted, united on the foundation of a data base and experience of forming a single regional vision. The budget of the "Deeper Horizons" project for the first two years includes purchase of new equipment and reprocessing and amounts to about $5 million. If the target objects are worth about several billion dollars, it is easy to imagine what kind of benefit and interests they might bring in the future. The implementation of these two pilot projects is the foundation for a unified strategy of the CIS countries in the Caspian region. In our opinion, it is necessary to accelerate the decision-making process to ensure that these projects become implemented.”
