The Trans-Caspian Pipeline (TCP) project from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan is a geopolitical and strategic pipeline for Europe. It will bring large quantities of natural gas from Central Asia to southern Europe and, via the White Stream pipeline under the Black Sea, also to Central and Eastern Europe. The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) oil export pipeline 20 years ago established and reinforced the independence of the participating countries, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It also happened to be commercially very advantageous. Like it, the TCGP is a unique opportunity to ensure Europe’s economic benefit and political influence in the region. Also like the BTC, it is a
demonstration project that will open the broader region to greater international investment. Gas from Turkmenistan costs much less than gas from Siberia. Implementation of Turkmen gas exports to the EU in sizeable quantities will serve the geopolitical purpose of cementing Central Asia’s relations with Europe, promoting integration and stability.
Robert M. Cutler earned his doctorate at The University of Michigan after receiving two Bachelor's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After over a dozen years in leading universities in Canada, France, Russia, Switzerland and the United States, he expanded into policy analysis and consulting as an Energy Security and Geo-economics Specialist. He has over 25 years' experience in international energy diplomacy: advising energy firms, governments, international institutions and NGOs; framing policy and research issues and leading teams to address them, and producing briefings and analytical bulletins.
He has published scores of refereed academic articles, policy articles and book chapters. He Practitioner Member at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI) and Senior Fellow at Strategy International. He is a past fellow of the Canadian International Council and Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and was for many years a senior researcher at Carleton University's Institute for European, Russian and European Studies. He is fluent in English, French and Russian. He can be reached at rmc@alum.mit.edu and posts to X from @RobertMCutler.
Robert M. Cutler earned his doctorate at The University of Michigan after receiving two Bachelor's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After over a dozen years in leading universities in Canada, France, Russia, Switzerland and the United States, he expanded into policy analysis and consulting as an Energy Security and Geo-economics Specialist. He has over 25 years' experience in international energy diplomacy: advising energy firms, governments, international institutions and NGOs; framing policy and research issues and leading teams to address them, and producing briefings and analytical bulletins.
He has published scores of refereed academic articles, policy articles and book chapters. He Practitioner Member at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI) and Senior Fellow at Strategy International. He is a past fellow of the Canadian International Council and Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and was for many years a senior researcher at Carleton University's Institute for European, Russian and European Studies. He is fluent in English, French and Russian. He can be reached at rmc@alum.mit.edu and posts to X from @RobertMCutler.
After more than 20 years of negotiation, and despite all the skepticism, there is every indication that five-party the Convention on the Status of the Caspian Sea will be signed in Aktau, Kazakhstan, on August 12. In fact, it was clear last December that it would be signed soon enough, when the Russian foreign minister Read More…
Diplomatic momentum is gaining on all fronts in favor of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP) between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Both Russian and American diplomats tacitly agree that this is a positive development. Thus last week the new U.S. Ambassador to Georgia (and former Ambassador to Azerbaijan) Ross Wilson publicly stated that “transport projects implemented jointly Read More…
In the early 2000s, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder convinced his government to take the decision to phase out all German nuclear power plants by 2036. This decision would eventually make Germany more dependent on the Nord Stream 1 (NS1) pipeline, which entered service in 2011 and runs under the Baltic Sea directly from Russia. Schroeder’s Read More…
