November 5, 2002 - 18:13 AMT
US ANALYSTS CONSIDER CASPIAN OIL NOT TO MAKE CENTRAL ASIA SECOND PERSIAN GULF
The Caspian Sea rich in crude is not able to turn the Central Asian countries into "the second Persian Gulf," US analysts suppose. Such conclusion is arrived at in the report of Hariman Institute of University of Columbia made public by the Secretariat of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. As reported by RIA "Novosti," the experts state that Caspian oil resources do not guarantee prosperity to Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. According to the information of the US State Department responsible for Central-Asian affairs Steven Mann, making 4% of the world resources, Caspian oil will never dominate at the world market. On the other hand, the US expert emphasized, a large percentage of the world oil, having nothing to do with OPEC, will be supplied to markets exactly from the Caspian Sea. According to forecasts, Kazakhstan will be the main oil supplier from the mentioned region and will presumably have up to $30 billion a year.