Eurasian Natural Gas: Significance and Recent Developments

A noted American specialist on the economies of Russia and major republics of the former Soviet Union explores and discusses the natural gas resources of Central Eurasia and the political and economic issues raised by their general inaccessibility. Central to these issues are the international pipelines required to bring this increasingly important energy source to meet growing world demand, and their intimate connection to the security of all the nations involved. The author explains why they are complicated by the growing, yet still largely potential, competition from a world LNG market driven by new technologies, and hence natural gas sources, outside of Central Eurasia. Each of the major actors in this arena—from the producer states and their national energy companies to the high-income consuming states with an increasing demand for natural gas—are pursuing frequently conflicting strategies to ensure their energy supplies and income security. Addressing the major developments thoroughly, the paper focuses in particular on the strategies of Russia/Gazprom, the Central Asian producers, and the transit states, as well as on the pipelines, both actual and potential, that intertwine them.