An EU study of the Caspian area oil and gas pipelines, comparing routes and costs

The Caspian region has considerable hydrocarbon (crude oil and natural gas) resources. A growing number of international companies are developing the known Caspian oil and gas reserves, or are exploring additional resources. One of the main issues facing the Caspian oil and gas development is the large distance from the producing areas to markets in Europe. This considerable distance implies the construction of long pipelines transiting through several countries before reaching open-sea terminals or connections to pipelines serving prospective European importers. The existing pipeline infrastructure in the region around the Caspian Sea consists largely of pipelines that have been designed mainly to supply the former Soviet Union (FSU). Therefore, export of Caspian oil and gas to Europe requires the creation of new, complementary, transport/transit/ export systems, that could include a combination of on-off-shore oil and gas pipelines, on-/offloading sea terminals, and associated sea transport by tanker as the primary goal, together with the rehabilitation or expansion of the existing transport systems.