Includes references (82-84 p.)

'Abstract Caspian Region has attracted the attention of international petroleum companies and of the developed countries with oil and natural gas dependence, together with the countries of the region primarily, in an era of the ever-increasing demand for energy supply whereas the source of supply itself has been expressing diminishing levels in quantity. The oil and gas-affluent ex-Soviet Republic have become a major topic in the global after the collapse of the USSR, as being one of the extensive-scale energy basins of the world. This issue brought new geopolitical struggles into the scene in the region establishing a competitive environment of local and global actors with a main concern on the control of the extensive resources of the region and the exportation process of these huge resources from a closed basin to the international markets. The intention of the United States behind its operations against Al-Qaida in Afghanistan after the September 11 attack was to demonstrate a justification for the establishment of a military base close to the regional oil and gas resources of the Caspian region. In the late March 2003, the invasion of Iraq by the United States as an action of the last war in the new "Great Game", a cast on petroleum, revealed the actual aim of acquisition of the country as a strategic sourcing district supplying the American economy with required petroleum and of establishment of an alternative to the alliance of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. Possesion and the production of petroleum and the cıntrol of the transmission lines by any means of struggle has become a major objective of several states all over the 20th century. The stability of production and the transmission of the petroleum to the final consumer markets has become a central policy of many states out of the region and the US particulary, because of the increasing importance of the Middle East petroleum. The intention of the US is to deteriorate the penetration of the Russian Federation and Iran in the region and to keep the safety of the sourcing and the transmission operations of the affluent energy resources of the basin under control for the Western World. Having become the one and only remaining super power after the cold war, the US is aiming to control the rival states which are energy-depended by the fortification of its world-wide power and the replacement of its diminishing and costly energy resources with the new and inexpensive ones. The pipe-lines crossing the neighbouring countries are the only means of transmission of the petroleum and the natural gas of the energy-affluent to launch to the international markets. Three main routes are preliminary. These are: The Russia Route (The Northern Route) The Turkey Route (The Caucasus Route) The Iran Route (The Southern Route) The US has attempted to balance the the domination of the Russian Federation in the region and to keep its surrounding policy on Iran by supporting the pipe-line projects crossing Turkey to export the energy resources of the Caspian Basin the international markets, in an intention to eliminate the Russian Federation. There fore the support of US for this projects is indispensable for Turkey whereas the support Turkey for the US to penetrate in the region is also indispensable to the same extent. Turkey has maintained the security of energy supply in the region by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipe-line Project. The Caspian petroleum attained the facility of a steady export operation, independent on Russia. The contribution of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipe-line to the Turkish economy has reached upto $620 million per annum. It is argued that the capability of Turkey to cover its energy requirements by its own resources in the short run is far beyond any possibility. Dependence on the outsourcing models is considered to be risky because of the unstable political spectrum of the region. Turkey sould both concentrate on the different types of sources energy domestically and on the different sources of existing types of energy to sort out its insufficient supply chain. The security of the region is vital in order to launch the oil and natural gas resources of Central Asia to East Mediterranean transportation bases via Turkey. Meanwhile Cyprus Island is the critical center of the East Mediterranean area with reference to the security issues. Cyprus is indispensable for Turkey in her perspective of security. Therefore, Turkey should also employ the necessary policies appropriate with her national benefits. The current geopolitical and strategical location of Turkey in the started by the US invasion of Iraq by March 24,2003, does not allow her to keep away from the incidents. Therefore, the applicable policies, strategies and precautions regarding economical and security-wise circumstances should be designed accordingly. '

1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

THE REGIONAL ACTORS VERSUS NON-REGIONAL ACTORS

2 THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE ENERGY RESOURCES OF THE CASPIAN BASIN

5 THREE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS AT PROGRESS

5 AZERBAIJAN

6 KAZAKHSTAN

7 TURKMENISTAN

8 THE DEMAND FOR THE ENERGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

8 PERSPECTIVE OF EU ON THE PRESENT AND NEAR FUTURE PROGRESS OF ENERGY

12 THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE CASPIAN BASIN FOR THE CONCERNED COUNTRIES

13 AZERBAIJAN

14 TURKEY

17 THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

20 THE UNITED STATES

23 IRAN

24 ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST

24 THE ACTIONS CONCERNING THE OIL RESOURCE TAKEN BY KAZAKHSTAN

25 THE ACTIONS CONCERNING THE OIL RESOURCES TAKEN BY AZERBAIJAN

26 THE ACTIONS CONCERNING THE NATURAL GAS RESOURCE TAKEN BY TURKMENISTAN

CHAPTER II

THE NEW GREAT GAME

27 THE STRUGGLE FOR THE DOMINATION IN THE REGION

CHAPTER III

EVALUATION OF THE PROSPECTIVE PIPE-LINES

37 PROPOSAL FOR THE PIPE-LINES

41 THE RUSSIA ROUTE (THE NORTHERN ROUTE)

48 THE TURKEY ROUTE (THE CAUCASUS ROUTE)

52 THE IMPACTS OF THE PIPE-LINES ON THE TURKISH ECONOMY

58 THE IRAN ROUTE (THE SOUTHERN ROUTE)

CHAPTER IV

THE PROGRESS OF THE BTC PIPE-LINE

60 THE CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BAKÜ-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPE-LINE

71 THE CONTRIBUTION OF BAKÜ-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPE-LINE TO THE TURKISH ECONOMY

73 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

82 REFERENCES