From Yahoo Board:
U.S. Experts Maintain Caspian Oil
Reserves are Huge
WASHINGTON -- (RFE/RL) U.S. Energy Department experts say
they are skeptical of a recent British report suggesting that Caspian
oil reserves may be dramatically lower than commonly accepted
estimates.
Speaking on the condition of remaining anonymous, the experts
maintain that the U.S. has firm evidence that the Caspian Sea region
is one of the world's most promising sources of oil and gas, roughly
comparable to what lies under the sands of Saudi Arabia.
American experts in and out of the government strongly doubt the
report last week by the respected "Strategic Survey," published
annually by the London-based International Institute for Strategic
Studies. It argued that the American estimate inflated the figure of
Caspian oil reserves dramatically, by a factor of up to eight.
Some of the Americans go as far as suggesting that the report might
have been motivated by a desire to discourage potential investors in
further oil exploration and pipeline construction in the region.
But one American academic expert suggests that the London report
is simply erroneous, with the authors confusing U.S. estimates for
proven reserves, which are between 20 and 36 million barrels, with
potential reserves, which may be up to 200 million barrels. "We
know what we are talking about," the expert said. "We do have
some specific knowledge to start with. I wonder where those
London people went for their facts."
The U.S. Energy Department has estimated the Caspian region's
potential recoverable oil reserves as up to 200 billion barrels, or
about 16 percent of the world's reserves. To transport the oil (and
gas) to Western markets, the U.S. supports multiple pipelines,
including a Eurasian link, running under the Caspian from
Turkmenistan, then from Baku, Azerbaijan, to the Mediterranean
port of Ceyhan, Turkey.
That pipeline project, which the U.S. says would avoid sending more
oil through the already clogged Bosporus straits, could take ten years
to complete. Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov last week
signed an agreement with the U.S. to fund a feasibility study of the
potential route.
DrRisk |
