The Caspian Sea is a large inland body of brackish water in western Asia, described alternately as an inland sea or as the world’s largest lake. It is bordered by Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the east, Iran to the south, and Russia and Azerbaijan to the west. It was part of the ancient, warm Tethys Ocean whose seafloor was buried and gave rise to the oil and gas deposits of the Middle East: it is one of the northern reaches of these gigantic petroleum reserves.
Political map of the Caspian region.
Offshore exploration began in the Caspian during the 40’s, with the first platform being erected at the Oil Rocks site in 1949. From that point on only the Soviet Union pursued offshore activities, leaving most of the region untouched. Only after its collapse did the newly freed countries (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan) begin pursuing their own offshore interests, frequently by inviting in foreign companies (for their technical expertise). Currently, BP (in Azerbaijan) and Chevron (in Kazakhstan) are working in conjunction with state-owned companies.
Physical map of the Caspian region.
The Caspian Sea is not covered by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), since it is not directly connected to the ocean and no area is sufficiently far from shore to qualify as High Seas. Talks began in 1996 on this topic and concluded on August 12, 2018 resolved many of these disputes, most specifically exploration and production rights from the sea floor. The EIA estimates that 48 billion barrels of oil (at 95 million barrels per day global consumption, enough for 505 days worldwide—assuming 100% extraction. Reality is closer to 50% extraction) and 292 trillion cubic feet of gas (enough for 780 days at current usage). The Caspian reserves are therefore of major global economic significance.
Ancient Paratethys, ca. 30 MYA, with parts of the modern coastline superimposed (the Caspian is outlined in the upper right).
Present-day oil basins of the Caspian (note that the Middle Caspian basin extends west to southeastern Ukraine).
Production has increased, at times rapidly throughout the last quarter-century, especially in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Russia and its former vassal states tend to pay little attention to climate issues, being more focused on economic, social, political and military concerns. Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a very real and bloody illustration that these cannot be ignored. Whether the political control is exerted militarily, as in authoritarian states, or economically, as in capitalistic states, it is a very live opponent to climate progress, more so in countries where the people are informed poorly or not at all. The entire Caspian region is an unfortunate example of this.
Caspian and Black Sea oil and gas production since 1994.
Tomorrow: the Caspian and climate change.
Be brave,
and be well.
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