This book explores the economic challenges involved in managing hydrocarbon wealth in the Caspian region, and looks at how to design an optimal energy policy. The book draws on the Author's experience in dealing with the governments of the region, and her knowledge of the role of major companies in the area.

Oil in the Caspian Basin : facts and figures / Gael Raballand and Regis Gente -- The impact of oil revenues on economic performance : analytical issues / Michael Lewin -- Nominal and real exchange rates in Kazakhstan : any sign of the Dutch disease? / Balazs Egert and Carol Leonard -- Resource revenues and fiscal sustainability in Kazakhstan / Peter Lohmus and Anna Ter Martirosyan -- Fiscal decentralization in centralized states : Central Asian patterns / Natalie Leschenko and Manuela Troschke -- Redistribution of oil revenues in Kazakhstan / Boris Najman.[et al.] -- Whither oil money? Redistribution of oil revenues in Azerbaijan / Matthias Luecke and Natalia Trofimenko -- Improving the beneficial socio-economic impact of hydrocarbon extraction on local/regional development in Caspian economies / Richard Auty -- Tengiz crude : a view from below / Saulesh Yessenova -- Conclusions.

In co-operation with the Energy Charter Secretariat

The energy reserves of the Caspian Region have been hailed as the new 'Middle East'. This book offers a thorough assessment of its energy resources and the nature of the international politics that surround them. This volume presents a unique study of the various dimensions of Caspian energy, ranging from the geopolitical to the economic, technical, religious and political.

The potentially rich energy resources of the Caspian region have proved to be a tantalizing magnet for nations, oil companies and investors, and this prospective oil bonanza has prompted intense media coverage. As nations continually search for new supplies to replace those barrels of oil that are being depleted, Caspian oil assumes significance because of its high quality and export potential. How far will this potential be realized, and to what extent will these resources become a substitute for Gulf oil? In this volume, a number of researchers and experts discuss the various dimensions of Caspian oil, including: its attractions; the rationale and scope for foreign investment; the complexities of the region's legal environment; contentious pipeline issues; regional political trends; and the economic impact of Caspian oil on oil producers from the Arab Gulf countries and the world market. Given the limits in the opportunities of developing means to exploit Caspian oil, studies suggest that there is little prospect of serious competition to Gulf oil and that the market control of the Arab Gulf producers may be relatively unaffected in the short or medium term. However, Caspian oil will be a significant addition to non-OPEC output and may eventually threaten the predominant position of Gulf oil, unless regional oil producers adopt more market-oriented economic investment and pricing policies.

The Caspian-Caucasus region has received considerable attention over the past eight years. The old potential of this colossal territory is so significant that the analytical centres of the world's largest oil and refining companies consider it to be more long-term than the unstable Persian Gulf. The Politics of Caspian Oil is a collection of essays presenting the results of recent research, which should serve as a reference book for the politics of Caspian oil.

"This volume is a collection of papers presented at a conference sponsored by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) entitled 'Caspian Energy Resources: Implications for the Arab Gulf', held in Abu Dhabi, October 25-26, 1998. The Arab Gulf is currently the predominant oil exporting region in the world. How far does the energy resource potential of the Caspian basin represent a major challenge to the supremacy of the Arab Gulf? In the course of this volume, the authors explore the various dimensions of Caspian energy, ranging from contentious pipeline issues to the impact of Caspian oil on Gulf producers, OPEC member states and global markets. A discourse on the attraction of Caspian oil reserves underlines the rationale for massive foreign investment flooding the region. The aforementioned issues are studied from the perspectives of the major players and in the context of regional politics and the complex legal environment. Although the future impact of Caspian energy is yet to be determined, this volume offers valuable insight and comprehensive analysis on the major determinants affecting this strategically significant oil-rich region."--