Oil Pipelines: Eurasian geopolitical reconfiguration

Abstract

The Caspian Sea is an important source of oil for the world, particularly Europe. However, the landlocked area was surrounded by neighbors who were commercial rivals and possessed major regional access routes. Examination of Eurasian oil pipelines evidences two large regions: Northern European and Mediterranean European systems involved in competition and collaboration in close quarters with competition and confrontation to reach the European markets from the Caspian Sea sources. With the demise of the Soviet Union, and driven by EU and US interests, as well as counting on their support, the Caspian region broke the Russian oil monopoly in less than a decade.