Oil Pipeline Politics Steadily Intensifies

The craving to dominate these new emerging areas also could be deciphered all around. Indeed when Michael Collon said, “If you want to rule the world, you need to control oil, all the oil, anywhere,” he has a point.

Central Asia is now the focus of renewed attention � for its energy riches. A very interesting game is taking place in the region, with stakeholders trying to checkmate and outdo each other.
Landlocked Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan that broke away from the Soviet Union in the 90s and are believed to be holding up to 5 percent of the world’s energy resources.

They however, need routes, outlets, to let their product reach markets. Interestingly, all their oil and gas exports to Europe are currently shipped via Russian-owned and dominated pipelines.

Brussels however, seems increasingly uncomfortable about this dependence on Kremlin, especially when there are ongoing talks of a new phase of Cold War, very much imminent.

To Russia, the landlocked region is its backyard. It would not be comfortable with others having a permanent sway over this region. A revitalized Moscow under Putin seems determined, somewhat desperate, to gain the ground lost. With most of the supplies form these Central Asian states currently going through pipelines passing through Russia, Moscow enjoys a control on the taps. And Russia is not ready to let this control go.

The US and its European partners however, desperately want the Russian stranglehold to diminish and loosen.

MENAFN