BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. The EU-proposed price cap on Russia's oil that entered into force on December 5 has already raised many uncertainties on the global energy market. And, of course, Kazakhstan, as well as Turkmenistan, being major energy exporters in the region would not be able to stay idle.
As Allan Mustard, co-founder and co-head of the Trans-Caspian Resources energy startup, Former US Ambassador to Turkmenistan, told Trend, Russia’s control of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s oil pipeline to Novorossiysk is of greatest importance to Central Asia.
He pointed out that Kazakhstan’s exports of oil and, thus, oil export revenues depend on Russia keeping the pipeline open.
"Kazakhstan would be wise to build an alternative delivery mechanism that circumvents Russia - probably a pipeline, but extra tankers might just be possible," Mustard said.
As for the prospects for Turkmenistan, the ambassador noted that the country, being on of the largest energy carrier in the region, ships the bulk of its natural gas via pipelines to China.
"The proposed EU caps, if they are effective, will have only a marginal impact on Turkmenistan’s revenues," Mustard noted.
At this point, it is too early to assess the seriousness of the impact, yet there's no denying that certain effect will be felt.