Found an interesting Govt. site regarding the Caspian Sea. As you scroll down the page notice the maps of the pipelines have been removed. There is quite a bit of info here.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/caspian.html#oil
In "Crossing the Rubicon" Mike Ruppert has this well covered.
(excerpt)
GENERAL BACKGROUND
The Caspian Sea region has become a central focus point for untapped oil and natural gas resources from the southern portion of the former Soviet Union. During the summer of 2005, oil from the southern sections of the Caspian Sea is scheduled to be pumped through a new pipeline (built by a BP-led consortium) to the Turkish seaport of Ceyhan. The 15-year effort of Western capital, technology, and diplomacy had aimed to decrease reliance on Middle East oil. However, in recent years new oil finds and production performance in the Caspian region have not met expected levels from the 1990s. At any rate, the Caspian Sea's production levels, even at their peak, will pale in comparison to OPEC countries' production levels. Production levels are expected to reach 4 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2015, compared to 45 million bbl/d for the OPEC countries in that year.
This report defines the Caspian Sea as an area including the Sea's littoral states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, as well as parts of Russia and Iran. Uzbekistan, although not a littoral state, is the region's largest natural gas producer and is therefore included in the region for the purposes of this analysis.
At the moment, the countries of the Caspian Sea region are relatively minor world oil and natural gas producers, struggling with difficult economic and political transitions. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the countries’ economies languished as regional trade collapsed. And, although the region has enjoyed overall economic growth since the latter half of the 1990s, gross domestic product (GDP) remains below 1992 levels in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan (when measured in constant 1995 dollars). Uzbekistan, however, has shown some growth since 1992. Moreover, in the region’s two biggest oil producers, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, 46% and 26% of the populations, respectively, lived below the poverty line in 2002. Improving these conditions depends, in large part, on the successful development of the region's oil and natural gas potential.
Although there is still no overarching agreement between the five Caspian littoral states on the division of the Sea's resources, three states have come to a trilateral agreement on sub-surface boundaries and collective administration of the Sea's waters. In May 2003, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan divided the northern 64% of the Caspian Sea into three unequal parts using a median line principle, giving Kazakhstan 27%, Russia 19%, and Azerbaijan 18%. Following this, development of the northern Caspian Sea's hydrocarbon potential, where most of the region's oil reserves and largest international projects are found, will likely move forward despite the lack of a comprehensive regional consensus. Meanwhile, offshore development in Turkmenistan and Iran, both of which refused to sign the May 2003 agreement, could fall even further behind. A detailed map of the Caspian Sea region with field-level detail is in the links section below.
Do you think the pressure is on Iran to sign the agreement http://www.hraunfjord.com/whatreally...s/icon_lol.gif
NATURAL GAS
The Caspian Sea region's natural gas potential is, by some measures, more significant than its oil potential. Regional proven natural gas reserves are estimated at 232 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), comparable to those in Saudi Arabia. Natural gas production in 2003 was approximately 4.5 Tcf, comparable to the combined production of South America, Central America, and Mexico. But companies and governments have thus far shown greater interest in oil than in natural gas--owing, in part, to the greater capital expenditures necessary to start up new natural gas projects, as well as to the region's lack of existing infrastructure. As a result, regional natural gas production has increased only modestly since independence. With only one major foreign investment focused primarily on natural gas (Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz --see Table 1), the region will still need considerable investment in upstream projects and export infrastructure before its full potential can be realized.
The natural gas located there is designated for India/Pakistan hence the need for a pipeline across Afghanistan. I wonder what 232 Trillion Cubic Feet is worth? If you add the oil its according to Ruppert a Trillion Dollars.
Now ask me why the US wanted a regime change in Afghanistan, did somebody say pipeline? ..... applause (sometimes I'm a little sarcastic, sorry) This was a major pretext for 911.
