Natural resources are one of the main sources of income for the countries bordering the Caspian Sea, which include Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. What is the significance of the region’s resources? economic weight?
According to energy company BP, the five largest countries in the region (Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) own 8.4% of the world’s oil reserves, 32.3% of gas reserves and 17.8% of coal reserves.
As of 2021, the five largest countries account for more than 5% of the world’s total electricity production. The Caspian Sea itself contains about 48 billion barrels of oil and one trillion cubic meters of gas reserves.
The natural resources of the Caspian Sea play a particularly important role in the economy of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, for example, the Caspian Sea accounts for almost 100% of all oil and gas production in Azerbaijan.
Oil and gas produced in the Caspian Sea is estimated to account for approximately 0% of Iran’s total oil and gas production and about 1% and 2% of Russia’s total oil and gas production, respectively.
In addition to energy resources, the Caspian countries are rich in other resources such as gold, silver, iron ore, zinc, copper, uranium, bauxite, cotton and caviar.
As for caviar, approximately 90% of the world’s caviar production comes from the Caspian Sea. According to the World Gold Council, three of the twenty largest gold mining countries in the world are located in the Caspian Sea region.
Today, Wednesday, the Caspian Summit started with the participation of the leaders of Russia, Turkmenistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, which is scheduled to exchange views on a wide range of issues of cooperation in the Caspian region.
Source: eurasiareview