ESL Lesson 1
Oil in Our Every Day Life
ESL Lesson 2
The History of Mining
ESL Lesson 3
Economic growth
ESL Lesson 4
Delivery Systems
ESL Lesson 5
Cities and Population Movement
ESL Lesson 6
Recycling
ESL Lesson 7
Rubber
ESL Lesson 8
Farming
The Caspian Region Central Asia
Shell set to pull-out of Turkmenistan, AFP.http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=1272
This leaves the much touted (talked about) Central Asian Caspian Sea region. Yet, as the author reported last December, exploration of this area has yielded (shown) dismal (discouraging) results. The latest news to add is that Shell Oil is pulling out of Turkmenistan, following on the heels (Slang for behind) of Exxon-Mobil. When we factor (add) in problems inherent (included) with the Central Asian and Caspian oil; the problem of transporting it to areas of demand, and unresolved (unsettled) political squabbles (arguments) about ownership of Caspian Sea oil. And dare we mention (should we say) that most of the oil discovered in this region has a high sulfur content, which makes it even less desirable?
The Battle for Oil
by Michel Chossudovsky26 Jul 2006 Energy Bulletin
The inauguration (celebration of the beginning of something) of the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku (BTC) oil pipeline, which links (connects) the Caspian sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, took place on the 13th of July. The BTC pipeline totally bypasses (goes around) the territory of the Russian Federation transiting (passing) through the former (old) Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia, both of which have become US "protectorates" (protected by the USA military). The BTC pipeline dominated (controlled) by British Petroleum, has dramatically (seriously) changed the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean, which is now linked through an energy corridor (route), to the Caspian sea basin. The pipeline is 1,776 km from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
BTC Pipeline Route Map
Pipeline map source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Btc_pipeline_route.png
Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert holds the world's third (3rd) largest gas reserves-three trillion cubic meters. Other oil fields in adjacent (next to) Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan further increase the known reserves of cheap energy available to oil-dependent economies. Estimated at up to 25 billion barrels (4 km_) of oil originally in place, Tengiz is the sixth (6th) largest oil field in the world; recoverable crude oil reserves have been estimated at 6 to 9 billion barrels (0.9 to 1.4 km_). Like many other oil fields, the Tengiz also contains large reserves of natural gas. Since the oil from Tengiz contains a high amount of sulfur (up to 16%), a 6 million ton mountain [and still growing] is being used to store the sulfur byproduct (waste leftovers from production).
The TengizChevroil (TCO) joint venture has developed the Tengiz field since 1993. In Tengiz Chevroil are Chevron, ExxonMobil, the Kazakhstani government through KazMunayGas and Russian LukArco.During World War II, Hitler wanted to conquer (control by military force) these oil fields, and the Battle of Stalingrad was fought over the Baku Oil Fields. The 692km South Caucasus Pipeline planned to be operational (opened and in operation) by the end of 2006 will transport gas from the Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan sector (area) of the Caspian Sea, to Turkey through Georgia, along a Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum path. Estimations are that Caspian output more than doubles, to 4.2 million barrels per day, in 2015 and increases steadily thereafter, although there still is considerable (much) uncertainty about export routes (ways) from the Caspian Basin region.
Summit Forges Military Ties in Central Asia
Boston Globe, 18 June 2006
"Leaders of the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization,(SCO) which includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, embraced a Chinese-led plan during the summit to increase military cooperation and discussed (talked about) a Russian proposal (idea) to create a regional 'energy club' that would exclude (keep outside) the United States. The SCO also indicated it would soon invite Iran, India, Pakistan, and Mongolia -- nations that have observer status in the organization -- to become full members.
The economic endgame in all this is to dilute (lessen) Washington's hold over the Caspian Sea's energy reserves, said Robert Karniol, Asia-Pacific editor for Jane's Defense Weekly. China and India, the world's fastest-growing energy consumers, want to divert Central Asia's energy resources toward their own economies, and Iran and Russia, the region's largest energy suppliers, are keen to reduce their dependence on sales to the West. For complete list of pipeline projects throughout the region (area) check EIA site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/caspgrph.html
Continue to: Iran
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Delivery Systems
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The Caspian Region Central Asia
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Iran
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Africa
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