Articles and Documents
2009
Azerbaijan Could Scuttle Nabucco Over Turkey-Armenia Deal (October 19, 2009)
Azerbaijan has decided to play its energy card to express discontent over the recent Turkey-Armenia rapprochement. Angered at the deal, which left the Nagorno-Karabakh question unresolved, Azerbaijan is threatening to stop selling its gas to Turkey at one-third of market prices. If it follows on the move, Baku could severely undermine the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline project designed to bypass Russia by bringing gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Turkey. (RFE/RL)
Afghanistan And The New Great Game (August 12, 2009)
The official focus on humanitarian and security concerns in Afghanistan is masking strategic energy interests. Afghanistan shares borders with Middle Eastern countries rich in oil and natural gas. Neighboring Turkmenistan has the third largest natural gas reserves in the world, which can only be brought to the international market through pipelines. This makes Afghanistan a "strategic piece of real estate" in the larger pipeline rivalry opposing the US and Russia. (The Toronto Star)
2008
Afghanistan borders several landlocked countries rich in oil and natural gas. Since the end of the 90s, the US has been sponsoring the construction of a pipeline connecting Turkmenistan to India and Pakistan via Afghanistan. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline confirms Afghanistan's strategic role as an energy bridge in Central Asia. In the "new great game" at play in the region, the US, Russia and China are competing for the control of energy export routes that can influence the regional balance of power. (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives)
2005
Al Qaeda, US Oil Companies, and Central Asia (July 30, 2005)
In an excerpt of his book entitled "The Road to 9/11," author Peter Dale Scott examines how the US has consistently used the resources of drug-trafficking Islamic jihadists to further its own ends, particularly with respect to oil. Scott focuses on the "three way symbiosis of Al Qaeda, oil companies, and the Pentagon," arguing that, thanks to Al Qaeda, US bases have sprung up close to oilfields and pipelines in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, and Kosovo. (Center for Research on Globalization)
2004
Caspian Region Likely to Remain Critical for Foreseeable Future (January 12, 2004)
Washington and Moscow follow closely developments in the Caspian region because of its large oil and gas reserves. Both try to influence the region "down the path that most closely conforms to their economic and geostrategic interests." (Power and Interest News Report)
2003
The Axis of Oil - How a Plan for the World's Biggest Pipeline Threatens to Wreak Havoc (October 28, 2003)
The US wants to construct an oil pipeline stretching from Russian borders to the Mediterranean Sea to lessen dependence on Middle Eastern oil reserves. Critics to the plan point out that the pipeline would cause environmental havoc and could fuel ethnic tensions in the countries along the route of the pipeline. (Independent)
Globalization to Azeris Means Oil and War (June 26, 2003)
Azerbaijan's oil reserves and border with Iran have increased its profile in Washington, but Azeris fear increased US involvement will reinforce the autocratic government and rekindle conflict with neighboring Armenia. (Moscow Times)
A Wilful Blindness (March 11, 2003)
As in Afghanistan, the US has increased its military presence in many places to further its "war against terror." Now, under the same pretext, the US government exercises strategic control over almost all the world's major oil producing and transporting regions. (Guardian)
Oil Giants Get Slick with Bid for New Image (February 2, 2003)
Oil is a dirty business, says the Guardian. "It always has been an unhealthy cocktail of coups, cartels and carbon dioxide". All the soft-focused ethical campaigns in the world cannot detract from the fact that the major oil firms don't do enough. (Guardian)
2002
Kazakhstan: Oil Money Threatens to Make Killing Fields (December 4, 2002)
The government of Kazakhstan is developing what will be the second largest oil field in the world, despite growing opposition from local people. To the Kazakh government, the prospect of immense oil profits outweighs the project's enormous human and environmental risks. (The Guardian)
Asian States Battle over Caspian Wealth (December 1, 2002)
The Caspian Sea region shared by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan is quickly becoming one of the most important, and politically complex, oil areas in the world. (YellowTimes)
Afghanistan Aims to Revive Pipeline Plans (May 30, 2002)
Turkmen, Pakistani, and Afghan leaders, meeting in Islamabad, revived the gas pipeline plans, which some saw as the cause for the US Afghanistan campaign. Although Unocal denies plans to resume its involvement, pipelines remain central to US interests and to Afghan domestic politics. (Los Angeles Times)
Pipeline Politics Taint US War (March 18, 2002)
The Chicago Tribune analyzes the widespread belief overseas that US military deployments in Central Asia are mostly about oil.
Balkan Oil War (February 25, 2002)
Croatia is restricting the transit of oil across its territory to obstruct Bosnia's purchase of cheap Slovenian oil. Croatian authorities hope to force Bosnia to purchase more expensive Croatian oil supplies. In retaliation, Slovenia is filing a complaint with the WTO and Bosnia is boycotting Croatian oil. (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)
Strange Boardfellows (January 2002)
US-based UNOCAL, described as the "bottom feeder" of the oil business, has frequently been associated with unsavory regimes. Eric Scigliano of the Nation discusses the company's history and its relationship with the Taliban.
2001
Central Asia's Great Game Turned on its Head (September 25, 2001)
Central Asia's strategic importance and its vast unexplored oil reserves have long made it a source of conflict between rival superpowers struggling for dominance. This article illustrates how oil interests have influenced foreign policy in the region, particularly with respect to the US's role in bringing the ruling Taliban to power in Afghanistan (Reuters).
Potentially Massive Oil and Gas Find in Tibet (September 5, 2001)
The discovery of oil and gas deposits in Tibet provides China with further incentive to tighten its grip on its rebellious Western provinces. Rather than having the effect of "quelling separatist sentiments" as Stratfor suggests, the acceleration of China's "Go West" policy is likely to increase militarization of the region, exacerbate tensions, and heighten the repression of minorities.
Bush Encourages Resolution of Conflict in Oil-Rich Region (April 10, 2001)
Bush is trying to play a mediator role in the 13 year old conflict on oil between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Of course, the US has some interest in the resolution of the conflict, since the region could be major oil supplier for Western countries. (Reuters)
1999
Petrodollars Behind the Chechen Tragedy (December 7, 1999)
Russia's unwillingess to settle the ongoing Chechen war is undoubtedly related to Chechnya's role as a vital transit route for oil from Central Asia. (Interpress Service)
