Caspian neither a sea nor a lake, apparently
An agreement of sorts has been reached on how to carve up the Caspian
The five countries bordering the Caspian Sea have come up with a fudged definition of its status, which while potentially confusing, has at least broken an impasse over how to divide up its waters and seabed. In doing so it could jolt some stalled oil and gas developments back into life. For years, the nations around the Caspian have haggled over whether the world's largest inland body of water should be classified as a sea or a lake. In the end, following a mid-August meeting in the Kazakh port of Aktau, those countries - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan—agreed that it should be classified as neither and be subject to a special set of rules. It's not an academic exercis
Also in this section
15 May 2025
Financial problems, lack of exploration success and political dogma cause uncertainty across much of the region
14 May 2025
The invisible hand of the market has seen increasing transparency but much more needs to be done to build a better understanding
13 May 2025
A fall in Venezuelan output drives overall production lower, as Saudi Arabia starts to slowly bring more crude to the market
12 May 2025
With the gas industry’s staunchest advocates and opponents taking brutal blows, the sector looks like treading a path of insipid indifference
